The Greatest of These is Love
by RevSue
Summary: Crossover story following series Now In a Mirror Dimly involving Clarisse and Joseph from Princess Diaries, Catherine and Robert from One Special Night, and Nanny and Sir Wilkes from the Eloise movies.
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Greatest of These is Love (Crossover E/PD/OSN)

Rating: T

Summary: Crossover story involving Clarisse and Joseph from Princess Diaries, Catherine and Robert from One Special Night, and Nanny and Sir Wilkes from Eloise.

_Disclaimer: I don't own ANY of these characters, since the Eloise movies are the property of Disney and Kay Thompson, the Princess Diaries movies are the property of Disney, Buena Vista and Meg Cabot, and One Special Night was produced by kaBOOM! Entertainment Inc. for television. Naturally I make no money from this work of fiction._

Part One

"Robert? It's Joe calling. I thought I'd check in to find out how things are going. I understand you had a blizzard yesterday – your daughter told me you were lost in it!"

"Joe! Hey, buddy, I've been wondering if I'd hear from you again after this summer in New York City! Nah, I'm fine. We were just stranded for one night." Strangely enough, Robert found it difficult to talk about the night before. He hadn't yet decided WHAT it was he was feeling. Certainly he was looking forward to Sunday morning when he had arranged to meet Catherine for chocolate chip pancakes ... although he still wondered if she would actually show up for it. She was a doctor, after all. A FANCY doctor. And she had called him some pretty harsh names last evening. Of course, by this morning, things had been a little different between them ... Abruptly he pulled his mind back to the phone call and the old friend with whom he had lost touch for so long. "Didn't you say you were married now? When do I get to meet the little woman?"

Joe chuckled. "I wouldn't let her hear you calling her that. We come to the United States fairly often now, however, so there just might be a chance."

"You come to the States often? Where do you LIVE?"

"Genovia."

"Genovia? I've never even heard ... wait ... wasn't there something in the news about five years ago when a teenager in San Francisco found out she was the princess of this country?"

"I believe you are correct. That would be Princess Mia. She is now Queen Amelia."

"I see. So you and your wife live in Genovia. Do you like it?"

"Genovia? I love it."

"Your wife a native or is she like you, a transplant there?"

"She's ... ummm, I guess you'd say you're a native Genovian, wouldn't you, darling?" Joseph's voice sounded a little further away as if he had turned to speak to someone else.

Robert heard a light chuckle in the background, and for a moment was surprised because it almost sounded as if ... as if CATHERINE was with Joe! "Hey, Joe?" he asked, unable to resist. "What's your wife's name?"

"Clarisse." came the prompt answer.

"She's not a doctor, right?" Robert pressed.

Joe laughed heartily. "Right. She is NOT a doctor. Why?" he sounded curious.

"Oh, no reason." Robert shook his head. Catherine was on his mind WAY too much! He SHOULD be thinking of MaryBeth.

Almost as if he could read Robert's mind, Joe asked hesitantly, "How is your wife, Robert? You said she wasn't well a few months ago."

Robert almost began to say that MaryBeth was fine, but something stopped him. He had opened up last night to a complete stranger. True, he hadn't had a good visit with Joe for years, but he was no stranger. They had become VERY good friends that summer long ago, even if they HAD lost touch in recent years. Robert knew Joe would want to hear the truth, and certainly talking about MaryBeth allowed him to continue suppressing his mixed thoughts about Catherine. "Actually, she's not good, Joe. She doesn't know me any more. She has Alzheimer's and they say it has seriously compromised her heart." His anguish was clear in his voice. He loved MaryBeth, he had loved her for years. It was heartbreaking to see her like she had been yesterday afternoon, shrieking and terrified of him, accusing him of trying to kill her. "I ... I don't think she has much longer to live."

Joe's support came through strongly, even from a distance, "Let me know, Robert, and we'll come. Maybe not right away, but as soon as we can get free from commitments here."

"I will, Joe. Thanks. I'm looking forward to meeting Clarisse." Robert pulled his mind back from his troubles. "What's she like?"

"Gorgeous. Strong. She has buried her first husband and her youngest son, and still can find it in herself to help her grand-daughter find her place in the world. We just got married in June, a whirlwind romance, you might say, and we've had some problems adjusting, but on the whole, I've never been happier."

"I'm glad." Robert was sincere. "You deserve it."

O o O o O o

It was his fault ... he should never have arranged to meet Catherine at Murray's this morning ... he was a married man! Guilt overwhelmed Robert as he drove as quickly as he could to the hospital. He would never forgive himself if MaryBeth ... Leaving his vehicle in the doctors' parking lot, figuring not many doctors would be out early Sunday morning, Robert rushed into the hospital, his heart pounding.

Jaclyn met him at the door. "Hurry!" she urged him. "Dad, hurry!"

But he was too late. Too late to say goodbye. Too late to tell MaryBeth, one last time, that he loved her dearly ... even if she couldn't respond. Yet somehow he just KNEW that Catherine had been right that night when she had said that a woman never forgets a man who has occupied a special place in her heart. Yes, Robert thought as he gazed at the still face of his beloved wife, MaryBeth knew in her soul that he loved her even if circumstances had managed to wipe him from her conscious mind. Now she was gone. Gone from him, gone from their daughters, gone from Michael ... gone.

Wracking sobs overwhelmed him, and Robert grieved with his daughters.

O o O o O o

Just for a second, Catherine had closed her eyes and had allowed herself to feel the warm strength of Robert's arms holding her as he carried her into the cabin that night. Almost immediately she had recalled with painful clarity Tom's many touches, his holding her hands, the way he would drape an arm over her shoulders. After a year, it still hurt to remember. God, how it hurt. And yet, recalling Robert's touch, she felt ... warm ... happy ... and she had fallen asleep smiling.

The next day, rolling over in the bed, her brain still a little fuzzy from sleep, she felt it again ... Robert's arms holding her, his voice telling her she needed picking up, and the clasp of his hand on hers when they had agreed to meet on Sunday morning at Murray's. Suddenly an overwhelming guilt swept over her. It should be TOM'S touch she recalled, memories of TOM, not of another man. It was ... it was still too soon, even though it had been a year. It was ... it was wrong, because Robert was married.

She remembered Robert's raw emotions when he had finally opened up and spoken about MaryBeth. Yes, she had recognized her own soul in his. Mingling with the weariness and the bleakness of a man who had all but spent his life's energy was the very same aching need she had experienced for the last year since Tom's death. They had both felt the gut-wrenching loneliness, as if they were the last two survivors of a disaster. Yet that night they had forged a bond between them. Inside them both was an emptiness, a huge hole deep inside that craved human contact. Together they could possibly fill that hole ... sometime ... but not now. It was ... it was not right. Not now. Not yet.

Catherine thumped her pillow, hot tears seeping out of her tightly-closed eyes once more as she guiltily realized that she was no longer thinking only about TOM and love-making. Somehow, Robert's face had snuck into her dreams ... his phantom body into her bed! "ARGH!" she groaned before resolutely climbing out of bed. Keeping busy was the only way to stop thinking! The first thing she planned to do today was buy a SENSIBLE vehicle! No point in tempting fate further. Her beloved Jaguar could be saved for summer driving.

On the Sunday, when it was obvious that Robert was not going to show up at Murray's, Catherine fastened a smile on her lips and pretended to the world AND to herself that it did not matter. She had not expected him to come, anyway. After all, he WAS married! The unwanted grief that she had felt not seeing Robert was ruthlessly buried as she threw herself into her work for the next few weeks. Unable to eat or sleep much, she knew she was losing weight, but she avoided William's searching eyes and his wife's questions. She even avoided returning to Shelby Manor in case she might happen to run into the Woodward family ... into Robert. She did not know how she would handle that, so she stayed away from the facility.

Once, when it was unavoidable, Catherine drove past Robert's house and caught sight of him in the front yard, building a snowman with his grandson. She took her foot off the gas and hesitated with her foot over the brake, almost stopping. Then the car behind her honked. Robert looked up at the sound of the horn, but Catherine hunched her head down and drove away, peering into the mirror to see that he had turned back to Michael. He obviously hadn't recognized her and certainly would NOT have known her vehicle since it wasn't the car her father had given her, and she suspected that her licence plates were covered with snow so he could not see the MD on them. Just seeing him, however, made her feel the sharp pang of grief all over again. Would she NEVER get over him? She had only spent one night with him! One very special CHASTE night ...

O o O o O o

"We're going to come, Robert," Joe said on the phone. Robert had called him, as he had promised, to give him the news of MaryBeth's death. "We just have to work out the details. Do you, by any chance, know of a place we can stay that is secluded and off the beaten path? We don't want to stay in a town or city ... anywhere Clarisse might be recognized."

Robert laughed. "Is she a famous movie star? Or is she simply wanted by the police?" he teased.

Joe chuckled. "No," he said simply, and went back to his original topic of conversation. "Any places? A summer home or something?"

Realizing Joe wasn't going to say any more about his wife, Robert set aside his many questions and thought about the problem. After only a split second, he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. "Actually, Joe, I DO know of a secluded cabin. I was thinking I might buy it ... as a vacation home."

"If you do, would it be possible for us to stay there?" Joe asked.

"It would be my pleasure! It's fairly rustic now, but I was looking at it, and the structure seems sound. I just want to add a couple of rooms ... I'll check into the ownership, and let you know if I get it."

"Excellent!"

"Can you stay here for Christmas?" was Robert's next question. "Lori and Jaclyn would love to have you, I know. She's planning a quiet celebration, but you'd be more than welcome!"

"We'll get back to you on that," Joe promised.

As soon as he was off the phone, Robert made a few more calls, and very shortly was meeting with the owner of the cabin, signing the purchase agreement and agreeing to take possession immediately, contents included.

O o O o O o

"Joseph?" Clarisse came into the room to find Joseph sitting by the telephone, looking thoughtful.

"Hmm?"

Clarisse sat beside him, her arms sliding around him. She kissed his shoulder. "Did you get in touch with Robert?"

"Yes, I did. And yes, he thinks he can get a place nearby for us to stay ... incognito. Can you be ready to leave in a couple of weeks?"

"Before Christmas?" Clarisse was startled. "Joseph, I should be here ... It's Mia's first Christmas as queen ... there are so many duties ..."

Joseph placed a gentle hand over her mouth. "Clarisse, my dear, you promised to not let duty to your country come before your duty to yourself ever again. Mia can and SHOULD be left on her own to make her OWN traditions, now that she is queen. Besides, her mother, stepfather and half-brother Trevor are coming over to spend Christmas with her, not to mention that she will still have Charlotte and Shades and Sebastian and the entire staff at the Winter Castle and the greater portion of the populace of Genovia ..."

Clarisse had to chuckle. She kissed the palm of his hand, and he removed it. "Very well," she agreed, still a little hesitant. "If Mia is agreeable ..."

"And if Nan and Sir Wilkes don't mind heading back to New York for Christmas themselves!" Joseph laughed. "Where are they, by the way?"

"They went back to Mertz ... Nan wanted to see if the waiter in the restaurant there still thought she was Queen Clarisse!" smiled Clarisse. "It's funny, last March seems so much longer ago than just nine months. We were just meeting Nan then ... well, I was just meeting her! ... and now look at us. Both couples are married and the best of friends! You know, I didn't have many friends once I married Rupert and became queen. But once Nan got over her silly inferiority complex, I found her delightful and charming and I am SO glad she is willing to put up with Wilkes!"

"Put up with him?" Joseph lifted his eyebrows in question. "He adores her and she him!"

"I know. And it's very sweet. But Wilkes, for all he is so very nice, is also ... well, very boring, I always thought."

"Clarisse!" Joseph pretended shock. "A queen NEVER speaks ill of a friend! That IS a rule, isn't it?"

Not deigning to dignify his question with a response, Clarisse changed the subject. "Have you noticed that Charlotte and Shades seem to be friendlier than ever? Now that Charlotte is in Parliament and has finished with the Children's Home project, she has a little more time to spend with him."

"She still won't watch boxing with us most Friday nights, though. Nan is the only woman willing to brave every one of those bouts!" He spoke admiringly of his old friend and although she knew she shouldn't feel it, Clarisse had to tamp down on a little twinge of jealousy.

"Tell me more about Robert and how you met him," Clarisse prompted. "If we're going to visit him, I'd like to be prepared."

Joseph sat back and opened his arms for Clarisse to snuggle close to him, and, resting his chin on her head, he began to talk about his summer in New York City working in construction.

O o O o O o

"Not that I'm trying to get rid of you," Clarisse smiled at Wilkes and Nan later that evening, "but I was wondering what your plans are for returning to New York City? You see, Joseph and I are thinking of going to Connecticut for Christmas to meet up with one of his friends. He invited us this afternoon. He just lost his wife a few weeks ago, so we would like to take him up on his invitation, provided you were not planning to stay here for Christmas. If so, we'll go in January."

"Aoww, we HAVE to be back at the Plaza for Christmas, for sure, sure, sure!" Nan said. "Eloise won't know what to do with herself without us, for Lord's sake!"

"Well, she probably can't do anything without YOU, Nan," Wilkes chuckled. "I believe there's something about decorating the Christmas tree with boxes and boxes of tinsel ... all the time singing and dancing ..."

Clarisse smiled as Nan's face reddened. "Like you were doing when you were decorating the ball room here with Charlotte. I've never forgotten how carefree and happy Charlotte looked then."

"Until she spotted us watching her," Wilkes nodded, his grin broadening. "Then you BOTH looked a little sick."

Nan dug her elbow into his side. "That's enough of THAT. You usually say much nicer things than that, Willy! Much, much, much! How attractive do you think that makes us sound?"

"You, my love, are very, very, VERY attractive ..." Willy hugged his wife who was still quite insecure around his 'high-class' friends, as she said herself. He dropped a quick kiss on her cheek as she smiled at him gratefully.

"What?" Queen Mia suddenly broke in. "Wait! I somehow MISSED this story! WHAT HAPPENED? Nan and ... and CHARLOTTE?"

Nan hid her face in her husband's broad shoulders while Clarisse recounted with glee seeing Charlotte, at Nan's instigation, draped in streamers, dancing crazily around the ball room singing loudly into a broom.

Mia listened with open mouth, then sighed lustily. "I miss EVERYTHING cool around here, it seems!" she grumbled, but her smile shone in her eyes. "I'd have LOVED to see Charlotte doing that ... AND her face when she saw you watching her! She usually so ... organized and business-like ... so, I don't know ... so CHARLOTTE!"

"Not with children," Nan put in shyly, smiling at the young queen. "That's why you put her in charge of the Children's Home. And she worked WONDERS with Eloise that time your grandmother ..." her voice died away. Oh my stars, stars, stars, she should NEVER have reminded Clarisse that she had had to call Charlotte to come help her when Nan was off enjoying herself with Willy! "I'm sorry ..." she began repentantly.

Clarisse, however, chuckled. "I am still astounded, Nan, that you can manage Eloise as well as you do. You made it look so easy! Yet I, who could quite easily run a country, could not stand to be the one in charge of that child without begging Charlotte to come all the way from Genovia to help me out of the mess I was in!"

"You would have been fine had Priscilla, Tom and I not gotten sick, Clarisse," Joseph reminded her. "But you had US to worry about on top of Eloise!" His eyes twinkled at her as he silently reminded her of how, before he got sick, they had struggled with their desire for each other while babysitting! After all, they had only been married a few months at that time, so were technically still on their honeymoon! Having a child around certainly could put a crimp in lovemaking!

"Someday, Grandma, I want to hear the WHOLE story ... but not now. Sebastian is coming with some forms to be signed. THEN I think we'll be done until January!" Mia got up and stretched, then gave Clarisse a quick hug and kiss. She blew a kiss to Joseph, waved at the other two and was gone.

"Doesn't Queen Mia want you here for her first Christmas?" Nan turned to Clarisse.

"As Joseph said, she should be allowed to start her OWN traditions. And she WILL have the rest of her family here. For years I have been tied down to all the holiday festivities here in Genovia, so I'm actually quite happy at the prospect of having some freedom for once during the holidays. But of course, if you were planning to stay ..."

"I think we should go home next week, Willy. Or is that too, too, too late?" Nan turned to Clarisse. "It will just be a week until Christmas then. If you would rawther we go earlier ..."

"I doubt I could be ready earlier. And we'll be going together on Genovia One, of course. Joseph's friend, Robert, said he would meet us at the airport in New York City. It's only a couple of hours' drive to his place from there." Clarisse instantly took charge. Joseph merely leaned back and grinned. He couldn't wait until Clarisse met his other old friend.

O o O o O o To Be Continued


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

Clarisse couldn't be ready to leave for America until December 21st, no matter how much Joseph fretted and complained. "There is simply too much to clear up before Parliament moves to the mountains for the Christmas holidays," Clarisse said. "You KNOW that! I simply CANNOT leave it all to Mia to do!"

At last, however, she was ready. "FINALLY!" Joseph teased her when the limousine pulled away from the palace to take the four of them to the airport.

As they stepped into Genovia One, Nan's mouth dropped open. She had never seen such luxury, in an AIRPLANE! "This could almost be your palace, for Lord's sake!" she almost stuttered.

Clarisse looked around vaguely. "It's rather cramped for a PALACE," she commented. "And the chairs DO have seat belts, for take off and landing."

"Shall we go to the lounge?" Joseph suggested, taking the lead. Nan followed the other two, Wilkes keeping a hand on the small of her back to direct her as she continued to gape around the luxurious interior.

Two flight attendants hovered nearby as Joseph and Clarisse sat on a double seat by a window on one side and Nan and Wilkes sank down on a double seat on the other side of the aircraft. They offered drinks and food immediately, but no one wanted a thing yet. Clarisse dismissed them for a couple of hours, saying the four would be all right on their own until that time. "And we promise to do up our seat belts for take off," she added with a faint smile.

"Yes, your Majesty," the two said, bowing. "Please ring if you need something earlier."

Once they were on their own, Clarisse looked over at Nan. "When we get up in the air, I'll take you on a tour of this level, so you know where to find everything. We'll be in the air for about eight hours. If you get tired, there are a couple of bedrooms."

"There's also an exercise room," Joseph grinned. "Clarisse had it put in especially for me. I tend to get quite bored on long flights, and my muscles all tighten up if I can't work out. Actually, I haven't needed to use it much since we got married ..." he added slyly.

"Joseph!" Clarisse flushed a little at his innuendo, but her eyes danced.

Wilkes grinned back at Joseph. "I like the way you think," he said, surprising the other three.

Nan laughed heartily and said, "Aoww, it sounds like you two are definitely members of that club I've heard about ... the, er ... Mile High Club?" She nudged Wilkes. "What about it, Willy? Perhaps WE could get a membership in it today? It could be fun, fun, fun!"

Joseph laughed aloud at the look on Wilkes' face, not to mention on his wife's. "In that case, as soon as you've had your tour, we'll get you a beer, Nan!"

"So I don't know what I'm doing?" she teased.

"So you don't know whether you're coming or going," was Joseph's response.

"Joseph!" Clarisse exclaimed again. "You're embarrassing Wilkes!" However, Clarisse's own cheeks were just as bright a red as her old friend's.

After the plane had taken off, Clarisse unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up. "I'll show you where everything is, Nan. Wilkes, would you care to come with us?"

"Can't I come?" Joseph asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Only if you behave!" Clarisse said severely.

The four wandered over the airplane, and Nan and Wilkes were introduced to the doctor in the small sickbay, the cook in the galley and the pilot and co-pilot. They were shown the exercise room, the bedrooms, the bathrooms equipped with showers, the conference room, the section at the tail with numerous seats in rows for when Genovia One was transporting a number of people and finally the office which was next to the lounge.

Nan was looking dazed by the end. "My stars, stars, stars, I can hardly believe we're in an airplane!"

"This is a relatively smooth ride so far," Clarisse said, sagely. "It can be very different when we hit major turbulence, but I'm told we shouldn't have too many problems today."

"Ready for your beer, Nan?" Joseph asked, going to the galley door. At Nan's nod, he looked at Clarisse and Wilkes. "White wine for you two?"

"Please," they responded together.

When Joseph rejoined them, he had the wine for Clarisse and Wilkes and a beer for Nan as well as himself. "They're going to bring us our meal in about fifteen minutes," he said. Handing Nan her glass, he grinned and indicated indicating the large television screen on the wall in front. "I could put on boxing for you, Nan, to go with your beer."

"Naow, I'll be fine, fine, fine just sitting here politely," Nanny chuckled. "But thank you, Joey."

Sitting down, Joseph reclined his chair somewhat, and raised the foot portion. "Now THIS is the life!"

"These seats do that too, don't they?" Wilkes asked, interested, looking at the controls on his armrest.

"It's the green button," Clarisse said, raising her foot rest as well.

Nan and Wilkes followed suit. "Now THIS is the life!" Nan said emphatically. She raised her glass, "Here's to us!"

"And to our happy, rewarding marriages, even this late in life!" Joseph said.

"Well, you know the old saying," Wilkes said, patting his thinning white hair. "Just because there's a bit of snow on the roof, doesn't mean there isn't a fire in the furnace!"

"At times it's an inferno," added Joseph.

The women both reacted with outrage, trying to keep the grins off their faces. Nanny was almost overwhelmed with joy that she had been so completely accepted in this circle of Willy's friends; so much so that she felt entirely comfortable being herself, even so far as to enjoy an occasional bawdy joke. Clarisse, on the other hand, was amazed and delighted with her own private transformation. In public, she was still Queen Clarisse, ever dignified and elegant. In private, she was just plain Clarisse, and with Joseph, Mia, Wilkes, Nanny and, to a certain extent, even Charlotte, she had discovered a well of mischief and 'wackiness' that no one, including herself, had ever realized she possessed. Joseph liked to boast that HIS Clarisse was completely wacky, being a brilliant practical joker, a writer of naughty limericks and a superb mimic, and he vowed that her humour was direct, offbeat, and sometimes off-colour. What made her humour even funnier was hearing her speak in her precise, musical voice and seeing her deceptively-innocent wide blue eyes.

O o O o O o

After the meal, Joseph and Clarisse excused themselves. Nan watched them leave, and a smile quirked her lips. "They're going to do it!" she whispered to Wilkes.

"Do it?" He looked puzzled for a moment, then his face flushed. "Oh!"

"Can we?" she leaned on him and looked into his eyes pleadingly, even as her hand slid sensuously over his thigh to fondle him. "Charlotte told me Joseph and Clarisse 'christened' these seats, according to the flight attendants, on their way to New York last summer ... didn't even bother going for a bed! And we have a blanket to keep ourselves ... decent."

Wilkes, staid, conservative, upstanding knight that he was, could not resist his wife. As ever, she stirred into flame the embers of the bit of naughtiness he generally suppressed.

O o O o O o

"Oh, my sainted Aunt Fanny!" Nanny almost moaned, leaning on him, still feeling boneless and unable to move after their wild escapade.

Wilkes chuckled tiredly. "I wish I had met your sainted aunt, since I've heard you mention her frequently."

"My father made her up so I had something decent to say instead of the foul language most of our neighbours used," Nanny whispered. She peeked up at him, and frowned. "Willy? What's the matter?"

"Oh, nothing," he said. "I'm just ... tired." He tried to smile. "You wore me out?"

Knowing she wouldn't get any more information now, Nanny kept her eyes down so he wouldn't see the worried expression in them. He was getting tired much, much, much too often these days! Maybe she HAD worn him out! She would have to try to get him to go to the doctor soon.

O o O o O o

As they were landing in New York City, being informed that it was three in the afternoon and a crisp, clear day, the four friends began gathering their belongings together. Wilkes and Nan were to leave the plane first, and they would be met by Eloise and her new nanny. After an interval of about half an hour to allow inquisitive people to assume Nan and Wilkes had been the 'celebrities' to come in on the fancy jet and to have gone away, Joseph and Clarisse would disembark and Robert would meet them and take them directly to his cabin in Connecticut.

"Can we perhaps meet up with you at the Plaza between Christmas and New Year's?" Clarisse asked impulsively, wondering why Wilkes was looking a little gray. Perhaps he was not keen on returning to the Plaza and the almost continual presence of Eloise? Of course, the child DID have a new nanny now, but she seemed to want to spend an inordinate amount of time with Nan and Wilkes!

"Aoww, for sure, sure, sure!" Nan nodded, beaming. "Joey, er, Joseph gave me the phone number of the cabin you'll be staying at. And you have our number."

"Yes, I do," Clarisse smiled, tucking her still damp hair behind her ear in her characteristic fashion. Ever since that dreadful day at the Plaza in the summer when she had had no idea how to get in touch with Charlotte by telephone, she had been sure to keep a personal telephone book close at hand! Besides, she had been talking to Nan so often in the last few months that she had begun to dial it herself, and had practically memorized the number! "I'll be in touch."

Nan nodded, smiling to herself as she remembered the look on Clarisse's face when Willy had commented on her wet hair earlier. Clarisse had finally admitted that she and Joseph had indulged in a shower, then had changed the subject quickly. Obviously Joseph and Clarisse had made good use of their time apart as well, Nan thought, still feeling the warmth from the loving she and Willy had so enjoyed.

Then Nan and Wilkes were hugging the other two goodbye and Nan wrapped a scarf around her head as Wilkes put his bowler on securely. Then they went out to meet up with Eloise who was so 'absolutely excited' to have her honorary grandparents back that she could hardly stand still an instant. Joseph and Clarisse waited quietly for the all-clear from the flight attendants.

"Did you think Wilkes was looking a little ... peaked?" Clarisse suddenly asked.

"I didn't notice," Joseph admitted. "He sounded fine. A little tired, perhaps." Then he grinned and added, "I assumed it was because he had obliged Nanny in the matter of joining the Mile High Club."

Clarisse just rolled her eyes the way Mia did so often. "As if NANNY were the only one interested ... I seem to recall a certain very eager gentleman crowding into my shower ..."

"Just doing my duty to keep you happy and safe at all times, my queen," he said solemnly. "And now, in the interests of keep you fully occupied for the next thirty minutes ..."

He drew her into his arms and Clarisse, after a moment of startled resistance, kissed him passionately. Then she murmured against his lips, "You are very, very energetic for an older man, Joseph!"

"Just remember Wilkes' saying ... and I'll add a little twist of my own. The snow on THIS roof may have mostly melted off because of the fire in the furnace for YOU, my dear!"

O o O o O o To Be Continued


	3. Chapter 3

Part Three

Robert paced impatiently in front of the doors to the security part of the airport. Where the hell were Joe and his wife? Damn it, he had a business to run back home, and here he was, wasting his time in New York City! Joe had SAID they were going to land at three o'clock, and it was almost four o'clock! Already at least ten planeloads of people had streamed past him, he was sure! In the confusion and melée, he had once almost thought he had seen ... Catherine! Angry at himself, Robert stamped down that thought as he stomped past the doors yet again.

They opened, and FINALLY Joe was there! But Robert was frozen, staring at the slim, elegant woman standing beside his friend and pushing the hood of her jacket back a bit to meet him. Was he seeing things? My God, it was ... no, it wasn't ... but Joe's wife sure LOOKED like _his_ Catherine! Again he shook his head vehemently. No! Not HIS Catherine! He had just buried his wife, for God's sake! It was much too soon to think of anyone else in that way! Then Robert realized Joe was grabbing him and shaking his hand.

Refocusing on his friend, Robert did his best to forget Catherine by ignoring Joe's wife for now. "Joe, it's about time you got here! I wondered if they had some security problems with you and detained you!"

Joe chuckled, then his face grew serious. "Robert ... I'm sorry we couldn't be here for you ... before ..."

Robert's hands gripped his. "Thanks, Joe," he said gratefully. Then he shook himself before getting too maudlin. "I can't believe it has been over forty years since we worked together on that construction crew here! And look at you! You've lost your hair!"

"All the hard work I've been doing," Joe grinned. His hand went to the back of the woman beside him, and he drew her up. "Robert, this is my wife, Clarisse." Joe's voice was bursting with pride.

Reluctantly, Robert met Clarisse's eyes and held out his hand. "Clarisse ..."

"It's nice to meet you at last, Robert," Clarisse said softly.

Robert's jaw flexed. My God, she even SOUNDED like Catherine! And her eyes were the same beautiful shade of blue. Still holding her hand, he looked over her face, seeking out the many similarities between this woman and the woman he had met and been so strongly attracted to that one special night just a month ago. Her hair was almost the same ... a slightly lighter shade of brown, perhaps, and done in a softer style. This woman made no effort to hide her femininity! THIS woman he could visualize in a flowing ball gown, sweeping around the room, with diamonds glittering around her neck, on her ears and ... in her hair? Robert shook his head again. What was his mind doing? He was going crazy! Realizing he was still holding Clarisse's hand, he dropped it quickly and turned back to Joe.

"We should be going," he said abruptly, "before the traffic gets a whole lot worse!"

Noticing peripherally as he turned away that Joseph carried whatever hand luggage they had yet still kept a proprietary hand on the small of Clarisse's back while a porter managed the cart with the three large suitcases piled on it, Robert tried not to curl his lip. Clarisse had pulled the hood back up to hide her face again, but still wasn't carrying even her PURSE. Obviously she was the classic beauty who wouldn't lift a finger to do anything herself. Probably she was afraid she'd break a nail or something. Oh, he could understand why Joe had fallen for her, she WAS attractive, no question ... but she must have something ELSE about her to keep Joe interested! Of course, they had only been married about six months, hadn't they? Judging by the amount of touching Joe was doing, maybe all Clarisse needed to do was BE there for his friend! He had thought Joe was a little more discerning than that. Frowning as he forged ahead to the parking lot, Robert decided he had to stop being so judgmental. MaryBeth used to tell him all the time that he was bad for jumping to conclusions and not taking time to find out the facts. So perhaps there was something more to Clarisse than glamour. He certainly hoped so, for Joe's sake.

As he opened the back door of his vehicle for Clarisse, thinking he definitely did not want HER in the front distracting him, Robert looked at Joe. "I was hoping you could sit up front with me so we could do some catching up. That is, if you don't mind, Clarisse," he added hastily.

Clarisse inclined her head regally. "That is fine," she said softly, and sat in.

Opening the back, Robert helped the porter and Joe throw the suitcases in, then Joe tipped the porter and the two men climbed in.

"Do you want to come to my place for tonight's meal and to rest up before heading out to the cabin tomorrow in the daylight?" Robert asked as he started the engine. "My daughters Lori and Jaclyn are sort of expecting us, but I said I'd phone first if we were coming."

Joe glanced back at Clarisse before saying, "Thank you so much for the invitation, but ... well, I'm not sure we're up to meeting too many new people tonight. Would it be at all possible to take a rain check?"

"I thought your one daughter was due to have a baby any day," Clarisse added, pushing back her hood again and undoing her jacket a bit now that they were in the vehicle.

"Oh, the baby's not due until next month!" Robert said. "No, Lori's fine. Fine! And she loves to cook. But that's all right. She didn't really think you'd come tonight. But she said we all have to be there Christmas Day without fail. She's going to cook a big turkey."

"Sounds good to me!" Joseph said.

"Speaking of eating, are you hungry yet? We could stop either someplace here in the city, or somewhere further on. Your choice." Robert merged onto the freeway, taking his place in the long line of fast-moving vehicles. He glanced back at Clarisse again, frowned slightly and added, "Of course, if you're trying to not be noticed for some reason ... well, Joe DID say the police weren't after you, and if you can't believe an old friend, who CAN you believe, right?"

Joe sighed heavily. "The police aren't after us, Robert. I'm assuming you now know who Clarisse is. My job for the last umpteen years has been as Head of Security for the Royal family of Genovia. In a very really sense, I WAS the police in Genovia, and the Genovian police, represented by Shades who is the NEW Head of Security, are definitely not looking for Clarisse! After all, they have been assured that the former Head of Security will keep the former queen of Genovia quite safe."

Robert's eyes almost bugged out. FORMER QUEEN? A QUEEN? He had a QUEEN in the back seat of his Suburban? For some reason, he did not doubt Joe at all. Damn it, Clarisse ... QUEEN Clarisse ... her MAJESTY ... LOOKED and even ACTED like royalty! Jamming on the brakes, he steered over to the side of the road, ignoring the cars honking around him.

"What is it?" Joe asked quietly, looking suddenly alert and almost dangerous.

"Don't you think you should be sitting in the front seat, Cl ... er, your Majesty?" Robert stammered, looking in the rear-view mirror at Clarisse. Then he glanced at his friend. "Hell, Joe!" he hissed. "Why didn't you TELL me? I'd have rented a limo!"

"That's precisely why we didn't tell you," Joe said, and Clarisse leaned forward.

"Thank you, Robert, but I'm quite comfortable here," she offered. "I haven't sat in the front seat for years. You just carry on visiting with Joseph."

"Joseph. Hell, Joe, she even changed your damn NAME!" Robert almost growled, and took off with a squeal of tires back onto the freeway, muttering in a singsong voice, "you just carry on visiting with Joseph!"

Clarisse allowed herself to lean back on the seat and drew a deep breath, convinced that Robert was very annoyed with her on top of still eying her with a peculiar expression now and then in the rear-view mirror. Oh dear, and she HAD hoped to be able to get along with him! Well, she would find a way, for Joseph's sake. She was used to dealing diplomatically with any number of people from all walks of life! Clarisse tightened her lips. Glancing back, Joseph saw the obvious battle signs in the flags of colour on her cheeks, the compressed lips and the glint in her eye. This was going to some vacation with a good friend who couldn't stand his beloved wife and vice versa!

O o O o O o

After they had stopped at a roadside restaurant which Joe had checked out before agreeing to enter with Clarisse, Robert took the cut-off from the freeway which would take them past Shelby Manor and onto the road Catherine had taken that night. There was still quite a bit of snow piled in the bush and the ditches from that Thanksgiving Day storm, and the threatening clouds in the sky promised the first snow since Thanksgiving in the forecast.

"How did you find out about this cabin, Robert?" Joe asked. "I remember you said that when you first saw it, you didn't know who owned it, yet you had time to check out the structure."

Robert clenched his hands around the wheel and shot a glance at a dozing Clarisse in the back seat, a woman who reminded him so much of Catherine that he ached with his longing for what he should not even be contemplating. He just couldn't keep it all bottled up inside any longer. Joe was a good friend ... hell, he had been Robert's BEST friend in the past, and it seemed they still shared a deep connection. "Well, it all started in a place that's coming up here, just around the corner. See that? Shelby Manor."

He went on to describe the storm that Thanksgiving night, how a woman had offered him a ride home 'in the most ridiculous car you can imagine for a New England winter! A Jag! She's daft! But she claims the car is a classic, and is special because her father gave it to her when she graduated.' He concentrated as he slowed the car down on the icy road. "And just along the way here, she hit an ice patch ... hey, look, you can still see the place where we hit the ditch! Well, we got out of the car and started to walk down this road, and she actually hit the SAME patch of ice with her feet and fell flat on her face ... right about here!" He slowed the Suburban to a crawl, then suddenly jammed on the brakes. "Wait a minute! I just had an idea. Hang on ..." He put the vehicle in park and jumped out.

"Robert? What are you doing?" Joe yelled after him, but Robert was searching the ground in the light from the headlights.

Yes! With a glad cry, Robert scooped up Catherine's necklace from where it lay on the shoulder of road, half buried in snow, but with the gold still gleaming in the light. He climbed back behind the wheel. "Sorry about that," he said, shoving the necklace in his pocket. "I just remembered she lost something here, and I wanted to look ... and I FOUND it! So anyway, we walked a bit more, then see down that hill where that white scarf is tied around the branch of the tree? We spotted a tractor and got on it after I hotwired it ..." Then he groaned. Catherine's scarf was still there! Well, he may as well take it with him. Some day he hoped to see her again. Not yet, of course ... it was still too soon, but if he had her scarf and necklace to return, he had a reason to contact her sometime in the future! "Just a sec. I've got to get that scarf."

"Go ahead," Joe settled back in his seat, grinning. "I'm really enjoying the story, and I like watching a man run up and down a snowy hillside."

"Yeah, yeah. Great!" Robert muttered, but he hurried as fast as he could and retrieved Catherine's scarf. As he stuffed it into his jacket, he caught a faint whiff of the perfume he remembered Catherine wore, and more than ever her image was in his mind and his blood was fired at his thoughts. He climbed back into the car, then tossed the scarf back to Clarisse and held up a crumpled one hundred dollar bill. "Bet you a hundred dollars you can't tell what the perfume is on that scarf, your Majesty!"

Clarisse folded the scarf up neatly and handed it back to him. "Chanel No. 5," she said crisply. "That is only a one dollar bill, so your bet is null and void, and please, call me Clarisse."

Robert's jaw sagged. Joe laughed and with an effort Robert pulled himself together. "Sorry, y–, er, Clarisse. I shouldn't have said that. Occasionally I say the wrong thing. But, thank you."

"So, you were now driving along on a tractor ..." Joe prompted his friend.

Pulling himself back from his memories, Robert tucked the scarf safely away inside his jacket again, then resumed driving as well as his story. In no time at all, they were pulling up at an isolated cabin. "And THIS is the place I broke into ... and now have bought," he said. "Home, sweet home!"

He noticed Clarisse looking somewhat askance at the place, and felt a pang. She looked so damn much like Catherine! How was he going to bear staying here with them? He was just going to HAVE to come up with some excuses to leave them alone fairly often during the day. Maybe a crisis at the site, or something. Anything! "It's just a metaphor, Clarisse!" he almost growled.

"What a beautiful view you have from here!" Clarisse said tactfully as she gazed out over the expanse of ice just down the hill from the cabin.

"Thanks." Robert opened the back of the Suburban and yanked out the suitcases. "That's Bantam Lake out there. Freshwater, of course. Connecticut's Atlantic ocean."

"Another metaphor?" Clarisse murmured, stepping back so Joe could pass her and grab a couple of the suitcases from the back of the Suburban.

Robert couldn't help himself. He grinned at her. Damn, she was like Catherine! "Now you're learning! Here, make yourself useful!" and he thrust one of the carry-on bags at her, turning back to the vehicle before he could see her reaction. If he wasn't careful, Joe would be forced to kill him, because Robert was becoming very, very tempted to see if Clarisse would fight back as Catherine had after almost constant goading.

On that one special night, as he was reluctantly coming to think of it using Catherine's own term, Robert had been taking his frustration with MaryBeth out on Catherine, who had been an innocent bystander, a complete stranger, and a real help to him when he was stuck at Shelby Manor with no way home. By the time they had almost finished eating, he recalled with a grin at the thought of clinking together their spoons of 'trou Normand', he and Catherine had declared an unofficial truce and were well on the way to becoming good companions. And THAT had come about because Catherine had refused to allow him to continue sniping and grumping. She had gotten in a few good shots herself. The woman had a wicked tongue when she was fired up. Robert grimaced. He wished he hadn't thought of that ... now images of what he WANTED her to do with her tongue were plaguing him! The skin of Catherine's hand had been so soft, despite the fact that she was obviously so very capable. He found himself wondering what the lightly-freckled, smooth-looking skin on her face and neck would feel like to his roughened fingers ... taste like to HIS tongue. DAMN, he couldn't do this, with Catherine's double standing in front of him, married to his friend!

He brushed past Clarisse with a muttered apology, stomped to the door of the cabin's porch and flung it open. After a moment of struggling with the key, he opened it and turned on the outside light as well as the inside one. "At least we have power tonight, so the furnace will have the place warm! Come on in!" he yelled back to the other two.

Before Joe and Clarisse entered, Robert stared around the cabin. He had been in it often lately, but never had Catherine been so ... so ABSENT! After all, she had only been there with him that one night! In the weeks since, he had been in and out working on the renovations and had not allowed himself to think of her. But Clarisse's arrival, and the unfortunate fact that she and Catherine were almost identical, had brought Catherine back to the forefront of Robert's mind – a place he did NOT want her to occupy just yet. It was too soon! MaryBeth had only been gone a month ...

"Uh, Robert? Our coats?" Joe's question brought Robert out of his introspection.

"Sorry!" Robert showed them the pegs to hang their coats in the porch. Then he gave them the grand tour, which meant standing in place and waving his hand around. "Bathroom with an antiquated shower, kitchen ... bedroom ..." and he indicated the ladder going up to the loft.

Clarisse's mouth fell open in her surprise. "Up THERE?" she almost squeaked. Then she swallowed, and her dignity fell over her like a blanket again. "That's ... very interesting. Have you climbed up there often?"

Robert walked over and looked up the ladder. He took hold of a rung and shook it a bit, then grinned back at her. "Nope. I'm not about to climb this ladder. I don't think the rungs are too sound. Which is why, once I bought the place, I decided I had to build on. So I've starting building a couple of bedrooms out back here complete with ensuite bathrooms," he said, leading the way through the back entryway to the new section. "As you can see, there's still a lot of finishing to do, but we should be fine in these rooms. Take your pick ... they're identical, down to the fireplace on the dividing wall! They each only have the bed, the built-in dresser in the walk-in closet and one chair by the bay window. I figured it would be nice to sit and look out at the lake on sunny mornings. You can have the chair out of my room if you think you need two."

"We'll be fine," Joe said quickly.

"One is fine, Robert," Clarisse spoke softly, her eyes going over the unfinished walls of the room. "It's actually quite ... cozy. I think it'll be beautiful when you're done. You're doing the work yourself?"

"Yes. Well, I have help, of course. And we really put on a rush to get this ready for you after Joe phoned." Robert was pleased with their response. He cleared his throat. "It's not a palace, of course, but ..." He stopped. "I'm sorry. I ... I shouldn't have said that. I'm not sure why I am behaving this way ..."

Joe stepped up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's all right. We understand. Really. It's good of you to have us stay here."

Horrified, Robert felt as if tears were coming into his eyes. He turned away, saying gruffly, "Come on through this way, I want you to see my pièce de résistance. We just finished it last night and filled it up, and I'm dying to try it. I hope you brought your bathing suits!" He led them outside the back entry to a deck where a steaming hot tub was sunk into the wood flooring. "I bet you haven't been in a hot tub before! Not in Genovia."

"Well, no," Clarisse admitted, with a faint smile. "But I believe the Plaza Hotel in New York City installed one this past summer."

Joe grinned at her suggestively, his hand smoothing down her back. "I believe you are right, my dear. In fact, I believe we were the first ones to try it out!"

Robert put his hands over his ears. "Damn, that was more than I wanted to hear!"

Joe laughed and clapped Robert on the back. "Terrific idea for your vacation home, though, Robert! Speaking of which ... Clarisse, would you mind? I'd like to speak to Robert privately for a moment or two."

Clarisse nodded, her eyes soft as she looked at her husband and his friend. "Don't freeze out here, you two," she warned, and went back into the cabin.

Robert tensed a little, wondering what Joe wanted to talk about. Then he inwardly grimaced. How could Joe not have noticed his attitude towards his friend's wife? Sure enough, Joe said quietly, "I would do anything for my wife, Robert, and it pains me to see the way you are treating her. Would you like us to simply leave?"

"No! No ... I'm sorry, Joe. I just ... it's so hard ..."

"I had wondered if it was that. I'm very sorry I never got to meet MaryBeth, Robert. She must have been a wonderful woman."

"She was," Robert said bleakly. So why was his damned body trying to replace her so quickly with Catherine? "It's ... not Clarisse. It's not even MaryBeth. Not really."

"Then?" prompted Joe.

"It's ... HER," Robert gritted out.

"Her?"

"Catherine. Catherine Howard. DOCTOR Catherine Howard. The one who found this cabin with me."

Understanding filled Joe's eyes. Robert felt like a complete heel. He felt as if he had cheated on his wife and been caught with his pants down, so to speak.

"I see," Joe said slowly.

"NOTHING HAPPENED, Joe!" Robert insisted. "I SWEAR nothing happened that night! I haven't even SEEN her again! I ... can't. It's too soon. But damn it, I just can't seem to FORGET her, either!"

"Robert, you are talking to a man who secretly loved a woman for YEARS before she was free to even be approached ... and then she was unattainable because of her position as queen whereas I was merely a commoner. Nothing happened between us, either ... yet when we came to be married, the Archbishop raised his eyes to heaven and said, 'FINALLY'. Robert, I KNOW what 'nothing' means in real terms, and I know what it means in the world of our dreams and our hopes for the future. There is no such thing as 'too soon' when it comes to this. I KNOW," Joe spoke quickly and earnestly.

Robert looked at his friend. "Really?" was all he could say hoarsely.

"Love is a great power, my friend, rejuvenating and miraculous. Even after we think we've been crushed, the power of love still calls us to take a risk. Guilt about what might have been has no part in it. Maybe things won't work out with you and Catherine, and maybe they will ... but you have to take the chance. You HAVE to, Robert! You can't just leave it eating away at you."

Robert nodded in agreement. "We were BOTH happily married, Joe. And both of us experienced profound grief and loneliness when our spouses died. It's just ... her husband died a year ago ... and MaryBeth, when I met Catherine, was still alive. Of sorts. She had not known me as her husband for over a year. So in a sense, the MaryBeth I knew died a year ago as well. She would not have known I'd met someone else. I KNOW she would be happy that I did. But ... it's just damn hard to get around in my mind. And what about the girls? I don't even want to CONSIDER what they would think about me replacing their mother so soon even in my mind let alone possibly in reality. That's another reason I haven't tried to be in touch with Catherine. It's just too bloody soon! But God, we found each other so easy to talk to, we both felt unusually comfortable together ... well, after our rather rocky start ..." he forced a laugh. "I, well, I am just so amazed that I might have discovered love again. Hell, I thought I was too old to feel like this."

Joe grinned. "I have a friend who just informed me today that simply because there is snow on the roof doesn't mean there isn't still a fire in the furnace!"

Robert stared at him blankly for a second, then shouted in laughter. At last he said, "Thanks, Joe. For everything. Now, I don't think we should leave your lovely wife alone much longer ..."

"Actually, she's probably already asleep," Joe said. "We had a long flight today, and the jet lag gets to her. After all, it's the middle of the night for us in Genovia."

"I can't believe you married into ROYALTY!" Robert said in an undertone as they walked into the cabin. "Why weren't you hung for treason for even daring to ask her?"

"We got around that by her asking me," grinned Joe.

Robert rolled his eyes. "Like I believe THAT! You know, when I was here with Catherine, I told her we'd Goldilocks it out of here in the morning and leave some money to pay for the window I broke to get in. Now I feel like I'm looking at a different fairytale, with you and Clarisse. A sort of reverse Cinderella!"

"Reverse Cinderella?"

"It's just a metaphor," Robert chuckled. "Sleep well, old friend."

"You too, old friend. And feel free to talk anytime. That's what old friends are for ... to listen. To care."

"Thanks, old man." Robert shook Joe's hand again and hurried into his own room before he totally broke down. A man had his pride, after all!

O o O o O o To Be Continued


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

When Clarisse awoke the next morning, not having moved all night and not remembering Joseph sliding into bed with her, she lay still for a moment savouring his warmth. He had pulled her back snugly against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. She felt so safe and secure in his embrace. Opening her eyes, still without moving, Clarisse saw the sun shining through the pine branches of the trees just past the deck outside the bay window. It looked like a glorious day. Then she remembered Joseph's friend, Robert, and she closed her eyes again. Why had he taken such a dislike to her? He hadn't even KNOWN her! He seemed rather disagreeable, but if he had been as good a friend to Joseph as her husband had said, Robert must have hidden depths he hadn't revealed yet to her.

Joseph's hand moved up from her waist to cup her breast and tease her nipple into a tight bud. "Good morning, my love," he whispered.

She smiled and twisted in his arms to place a quick kiss on his chin. "Good morning, Joseph. I'm sorry I didn't manage to stay up for you last night. I love you," she said.

"I know. You show me often, and I love you for it."

"What time is it? Is Robert up yet? We should probably get up. It's very poor manners to remain ..." She suddenly sat up and threw the covers back.

"Clarisse," Joseph interrupted her spate of words. "There's no need to be nervous."

Clarisse sank back down on the bed, and stared at her husband. "But he ... I ..."

"He did not dislike you. How could he? His reasons are his own, but suffice to say, you were on the receiving end of a lot of frustration and grief. That's not to say, of course, that Robert won't get on your nerves from time to time," Joseph added with a grin. "He always did have a way of saying something that could grate. But he has a heart of gold."

"Buried deep under his rough exterior?" Clarisse asked, her eyebrows arched in mocking inquiry. "Or is that just a metaphor, too?"

"Please, try to like him for my sake, if not for his," Joseph sighed. "Don't turn adamantly against him. Give him another chance."

"Joseph, I am a very fair person," Clarisse said, somewhat indignantly. "You KNOW I ..."

Joseph jumped out of bed and swept her out of the bed and into his arms. Clarisse squeaked a little in surprise, then chuckled as he said, "I know EVERYTHING about you, madam! Everything!"

"Including the fact that I really need to use the ... facilities?" she whispered.

"Including that." He set her down by the bathroom door. "Your servant, madam!"

"Thank you so much, sir!"

When they came into the main living area of the cabin, Joseph and Clarisse found Robert setting the table for breakfast. He had turned on the small television in the corner and was watching a re-cap of the previous day's news items. He faltered a bit when seeing Clarisse, and his fingers clenched around the cutlery he was holding. Then he visibly relaxed. "Good morning, Clarisse. Joseph. Did you both sleep well?"

"Wonderfully, thank you, Robert," Clarisse said graciously. "May I help?"

Robert raised his eyebrows. "You can do this kind of work? I thought you just ran a country, not a kitchen!" Clarisse drew up sharply, but then Robert grinned. "Sorry. I vowed not to get off on the wrong foot this morning, and look at me! Stuffed both feet in my big mouth! You're probably a gourmet cook, too."

Clarisse was saved from having to respond to that comment when Joseph suddenly raised his hand and said, "Shh!" while looking at the television.

A picture of Genovia One filled the small screen. "New York City reporters discovered the plane almost accidentally. They converged on the gates, hoping for a picture of the former queen and her former Head of Security, now newly-acquired spouse. Seen on your screen now is the woman believed by the reporters to be Queen Clarisse of Genovia, but she seems to have been with a very attentive man NOT her husband. The two Genovians met a young child who threw herself into the queen's arms, crying, 'Nanny! I'm absolutely THRILLED you came back for Christmas!' The very dapper gentleman with the queen urged the two and the child's companion into a taxi, avoiding reporters and cameramen assiduously."

"Oh, poor Nan!" Clarisse sighed.

"Poor NAN? It was Wilkes who was trying to wave the reporters away and keeping his hand over his face so he couldn't be clearly seen! Good thing Nan had that scarf wrapped around her head ... no one could get a clear shot of her. And the way Eloise was burrowing into Nan's side makes her virtually unrecognizable, too." Joseph shook his head. "Reporters! Why not come up with some REAL news?"

"What is NOT known is whether or not the split between Queen Clarisse and Sir Joseph is formal, or merely that they were travelling separately this holiday season. Just last June, in a very surprising, very public ceremony, the two were married, as you can see in this clip from the Cathedral in Pyrus, Genovia."

"Well, what do you know? Now I can say I saw your wedding!" Robert tried to speak jocularly, but his face was grave.

"Queen Clarisse has already retrieved one grand-daughter, the present Queen Amelia, from the United States. Speculation has arisen as to the identity of this child. Yet another secret grand-daughter? Or is she perhaps ..." the reporter lowered his voice, "a GREAT-grand-daughter from an illicit union? In what amounted to virtually a high-speed chase through the city, the reporters following the royals unfortunately lost them, and nothing more has been heard. Stay tuned for more breaking news ..."

Robert went over and savagely punched the button to turn the television off. "Ignore them," he said, tersely. "Do you want to call your friends? At least, I'm ASSUMING you know those two?"

"We probably should," Clarisse agreed. "Would you mind?"

"Be my guest, your Majesty," he waved her grandly towards the phone. "I am assuming you are able to accomplish that simple task on your own."

Joseph chuckled and was about to say something when Clarisse shot him a glare that had him holding up his hands in surrender and saying nothing.

Then Robert whirled back to the kitchen. "DAMN! Burnt the toast! I stock up on lots of good food, and what do I do? KILL it!"

He continued muttering while Joseph and Clarisse went to the wall telephone and eventually managed to get Wilkes on the other end of the line.

"Wilkes?" Clarisse spoke quickly. "Have you seen the news? We just saw it now. I'm SO sorry ..."

"WE don't mind, Clarisse! Nan was tickled pink at being taken for you again! Especially when she didn't have to answer any questions about pesticides." Wilkes chuckled a little. "No, no, no, we don't mind at all. We were feeling badly for YOU!"

"You're SURE? I mean, all those reporters at the airport ..."

"I just pretended I was Joseph and ushered the ladies into the taxi and told the taxi driver to lose the others. He obviously trained as an international spy, not to mention a race car driver, because somehow he managed it. Eloise was quite excited by the whole thing, not to mention overcome by being thought of as a princess."

"I'm SO glad, Wilkes! How are you, by the way?"

"Fine! Never better!" He sounded hearty and robust. "You met up with Joseph's friend all right?"

"We did indeed," Clarisse said. "Well, I won't keep you. We just wanted to phone to apologize ..."

"Tosh, tosh, tosh, no apologies necessary, Clarisse. It's the least we can do for the hospitality you showed us this past month in Genovia! Enjoy your holiday! I'll tell Nan you called. She's down with Eloise at the moment."

"Thank you, Wilkes. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you and to Joseph, Clarisse!"

"Well?" Joseph asked when she got off the phone. "How does he sound?"

"He sounds fine ... which is how he said he felt." Clarisse frowned. "I suppose I might have been wrong about him not looking well ..."

"Or perhaps I was RIGHT and he was just tired out from pleasing Nan?" Joseph teased her.

"Joseph!"

O o O o O o

The next two days passed relatively smoothly. Robert left Clarisse and Joseph on their own for a few hours both days while he checked on business at his construction site. They explored the cabin thoroughly in his absence, even climbing up the ladder into the loft and making love on the antique feather bed they found there. They went for hikes through the bush as a threesome. Robert rounded up ice skates for all of them and they had a fun afternoon laughing at each other as they tottered around in their attempts to glide gracefully. They relaxed in front of the fireplace and talked, they sat at the table frowning over the Scrabble board for hours.

After lunch on Christmas Eve, while they were sitting by the fire arguing about whether or not to try skating again, the telephone rang. Robert groaned as he got up. "Damn, I asked them to leave me alone! Maybe I should just do the traditional queen thing and yell 'off with their heads!'"

"Traditional 'queen' thing? Not in Genovia," Clarisse frowned at him.

"No. There the queen yells 'hang them by their toes!'" grinned Joseph.

"Joseph," Clarisse said precisely. "Queens NEVER yell!"

Robert chuckled as he reached for the telephone. But in moments he was rushing around the cabin looking for his keys and barking out instructions for Joseph and Clarisse. His daughter had phoned, terrified, because her sister's water had broken and she was obviously in labour. "I'll talk to you later, when I know something!" he yelled as he went out the door.

Clarisse and Joseph remained standing until the sound of the Suburban vanished. Then Clarisse said quietly, "I do hope everything will be all right."

"Me, too," Joseph said soberly. "But she's not TOO early. I mean, she's at 34 weeks, didn't he say? That's only a month early. And it IS her second child ..."

Looking at him wonderingly, Clarisse asked, "How do you know so much about this?"

Joseph arched an eyebrow in perfect imitation of her. "I read a lot. PLUS I talked to Robert about Lori the other day, when you were napping. Now, my dear, we are on our own for an indefinite amount of time. What shall we do first?"

It was only a matter of seconds before they said in unison, "The hot tub!"

O o O o O o

"See the stars? Aren't they glorious?" Clarisse said dreamily as she lay back in Joseph's arms after their third and most 'active' session in the hot tub that Christmas Eve. "That big one over there ... that could be the Christmas Star ..."

"I'm too exhausted to open my eyes ..." Joseph's voice was husky and teasing in her ear. "Old men aren't supposed to stay very long in the hot tub, you know ... It can be much too ... relaxing."

Clarisse laughed softly. "I didn't notice much of a problem earlier."

"It is now," Joseph almost moaned. "The only reason I managed at all was because we got out for supper, then again to let me beat you in a Scrabble game."

"I graciously allowed you to win. After all, it IS Christmas Eve," Clarisse murmured, running her hands lightly over the strong arms holding her close and watching how the hairs rippled in the water.

At that moment, they heard the phone ring. Both groaned. They were feeling much too sated from their recent activities to move. "It's probably Robert," Joseph said.

"Yes. I wonder how Lori is?" Clarisse responded, still stroking Joseph's arms.

"I should get out and answer it."

"Yes, you probably should. What time is it?"

"Should I know that?" Joseph whispered in her ear, mimicking Robert's tones. Robert had said that a number of times over the course of the last two days.

"Well, if it was Robert, he's given up," Clarisse pointed out when the phone cut off mid-ring.

"Wonder if he'll try again?"

"He might have even tried earlier, when we were ... otherwise occupied."

"Hmm ... and it was glorious ..." Joseph's lips nuzzled her ear and neck.

Clarisse arched into his touch with a faint moan. "No more, Joseph ... not tonight ... you'll kill me ..."

"Much as I'd love to prove you wrong, I can't. I'm just not up to it. Sorry, my dear."

"Maybe we should get out. In case the phone rings again ..."

At that moment, the phone DID start ringing again. Joseph heaved a sigh, then slid Clarisse off him and stood up. "I'll get it."

Grabbing one of the towels they had brought outside with them, he went into the cabin and picked up the telephone, dropping the towel onto the hardwood floor and dripping onto it as he stood there. "Hello?"

When Clarisse heard him say, "How is she, Robert?" she dragged herself out of the hot tub as well, took the other towel and stood beside Joseph with her own towel under her bare feet to catch the drips. He moved the phone slightly so she could hear Robert's excited voice.

"It's a girl! A grand-daughter. She's beautiful, Catherine says!"

"CATHERINE?" Joseph asked, surprised.

Clarisse frowned at him, questioningly. Catherine? Who was Catherine?

"Yes, when I heard the baby was having trouble, I asked them to call Catherine. She's a pediatric cardiologist. She came." Robert's voice was thankful.

"So you've seen her again!" Joseph began to grin broadly.

"Yeah, I've seen her."

Clarisse tugged a bit on Joseph's arm. 'Catherine?' she mouthed.

Joseph shook his head. "So the baby's fine?"

"Yes. Catherine said she's keeping them both in the hospital for a day or two, just in case, but she says they're fine."

"So ... are you going to see Catherine again?"

"I couldn't get her to listen to me ... and it wasn't really the time. But Jaclyn and I decided we'd take Christmas to Lori tomorrow morning early – we'll just take in a little tree and the presents ... and Jeff and Michael ..."

"Jeff?"

"Oh yeah ... he came to the hospital ... got into the delivery room ... and he and Lori have patched up their differences. Anyway, as I said, we'll go in early tomorrow ... then I plan to look for Catherine. I'm going to take your advice, Joe."

Again Clarisse tugged on Joseph's arm, mouthing, 'Catherine? Advice?'

Again he ignored her. "You won't regret it, Robert. Whatever happens, you won't regret it."

"I don't know when I'll get back out to the cabin, Joe ..."

"We'll be fine here. Don't worry about it. Just look after your family ... and yourself ... and do what you have to do with Catherine ... and we'll be waiting to hear the end result! Merry Christmas, Robert! A brand new year is starting for you. Make it count!"

"I will. Merry Christmas, Joe. I'm really, REALLY glad you and Clarisse came! Give her my love, too, will you? And ... and ask her forgiveness for the way I've treated her? I think you'll both understand why when you meet Catherine. Oops, gotta go, someone's waiting for the phone. Bye!" and Robert was gone.

Now exasperated and beginning to shiver being in the somewhat chilly cabin still drip-drying, Clarisse waited only until Joseph hung up the telephone before saying, "WHO is Catherine?"

Joseph eyed the goosebumps all over his wife's skin and grinned. "A pediatric cardiologist who, it seems, saved Robert's grand-daughter's life tonight."

"JOSEPH!"

Joseph wiped his feet on the towel, then walked over to the fireplace, opening the doors where the dry wood was stored. "Let's light a fire in here tonight, shall we, Clarisse?" Clarisse crossed her arms and glared at him from where she stood. Still grinning, he set up the fire, then lit it. Then he stood up himself and faced her, his hands on his hips. "Like what you see?" He posed first one way, then the other.

As the flames gathered strength, the golden light flickered over the contours of his body. Clarisse felt her mouth go dry at the sight of him, and felt the wetness between her thighs. "Oh, Joseph ..." She licked her lips. "We should be completely worn out after our antics in the hot tub!"

"But the news of the birth ... that's always energizing ..." he grinned. "Come on over here," he added, coaxingly, "and I promise I'll tell you about Catherine while we ... occupy ourselves now that we have an undetermined amount of time alone here ..."

Thinking longingly of the soft bed in the other room, Clarisse took a reluctant step forward. She saw Joseph grin and point to his groin, and seeing the obvious renewed arousal there made her laugh. "Oh, Joseph ... you are insatiable!"

"Come here, my dear," he urged.

She hesitated, although everything inside urged her to go to him. But she just KNEW she would learn nothing about Catherine for a long time if she gave in to him. "Tell me about Catherine first."

Joseph sighed and dropped his hands. "Very well. She and Robert met in November by chance – she offered him a lift home and they got stuck in a blizzard. They managed to find their way to this cabin, and spent the night here. A very CHASTE night, I might add and as Robert was quick to inform me. They haven't seen each other since ... until tonight, it appears. He was interested, but married at the time. Now he isn't, and the interest has grown in the last month. He hopes to find Catherine to ask if the interest is mutual. Satisfied? Come over here now, Clarisse? It's nice and warm by the fire ..." he said persuasively.

Clarisse smiled. "We can and DO make our own heat, Joseph. And no, I'm not really satisfied."

"So, what WILL satisfy you, your Majesty?"

Her smile grew. "I find I am ... uncomfortable, I suppose you could say. I have an ... itch isn't quite the right word, but will have to do. I need someone to see to my every need, my every whim ... someone to love me so thoroughly that I forget my surroundings entirely, so thoroughly that I am oblivious to everyone and everything except him and the love we share. Do you have any idea where I might find such a paragon? Someone to ... keep me safe and well-loved?" She had been moving closer to him slowly, taking one step for every few words.

When she was within arms' reach, she flung herself into his arms, clasped her hands behind his neck and kissed him passionately. He pulled her closer and held her tightly. At last she lay boneless and spent in his arms, dimly aware that he, too, had reached glorious fulfillment before, together, they sank blindly and sweetly into oblivion, melting into peace in one another's arms.

Only once did Clarisse stir, and that was at dawn when Joseph moved away to put more wood on the fire before coming back and gathering her close again. They shared a gentle kiss, a whispered "Merry Christmas, my love", and collapsed in a tangle of bare limbs once more.

The sound of knocking and voices awoke them, then heavy footsteps went across the back deck before a tinkling of glass heralded the presence of someone in the cabin who went straight past the living room to the front door and opened it.

A naked Clarisse and Joseph, with no way to escape unseen, clung to each other on the far side of the couch, trying not to move and so remain undetected as a woman, her voice sounding very much like Clarisse's, said, "Where are Charlie and Robin?"

Robert's voice said briskly, "Howard and Millie moved to Florida. The place was for sale."

"THIS is your vacation home? You BOUGHT it?" Her voice was incredulous.

"Yes. Just for an emergency. In case I ever got stranded again." Robert's voice was curiously soft.

Clarisse and Joseph, feeling the cold sweeping along the floor from the open door, heard muffled sounds, then a coat and scarf were tossed onto a chair.

"Do you believe in second chances?" Robert asked.

The woman, who could only have been Catherine, replied, her smile coming through her words. "I'm a woman of science. I only believe in what I see."

The door shut, and underneath the couch, Clarisse and Joseph could see two pairs of feet come together as Robert and Catherine went into each other's arms.

"Merry Christmas, Millie," Robert said, huskily.

"Merry Christmas, Howard," was Catherine's soft reply.

Then there was silence, broken only by occasional soft moans and faint groans. Clarisse and Joseph both swallowed hard. Oh, dear. WHAT a predicament!

O o O o O o To Be Continued


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Catherine forgot her concern about the previous occupants of the house as Robert's kiss deepened. Her hands slid up his back, then down again, frantically drawing him closer. Oh, she had been dreaming of this moment for a month, and could hardly believe it was happening to her!

"Catherine, Catherine, Catherine ..." He almost chanted her name as a litany between kisses. "I want you ... I've wanted you since that night ... I've seen you in my dreams ..."

As his lips roamed her cheeks and throat, coming back often to her lips, Catherine's body quivered as it teetered on the edge of rapture. "Robert ..." she panted. "S-Slow down ..." When it seemed that he was going to draw away, she gasped and pulled him closer again. "N-NO! Don't stop!"

At that precise moment, when Catherine was almost over the edge with delirious ecstasy, she heard the floor creaking loudly. Opening her eyes in confusion, she screamed at the sight of a strange man and woman heading for the back door, clutching towels around obviously naked bodies. The other woman gasped loudly and disappeared into the other room with a flash of long, slim legs just as Robert lifted his head with a muffled curse. The other man froze, looking wretchedly guilty as he held the towel in front of himself. Then his mouth dropped open when he saw Catherine, and he stared at her blankly.

"Robert! My God! I thought we were ALONE! You said Howard and Millie had moved to FLORIDA ... that you had BOUGHT this place!" Catherine hissed, trying to hide behind him and out of view of the stranger's incredulous regard. Why was he looking at her like that? She was still ... decent! She had only been kissing Robert, not making out with him!

Robert tried to calm her down. "Relax! They're a little more upset than WE are at this intrusion." He looked over at the man. "I AM sorry, Joe ... but what the hell are you doing in HERE? I thought ... I didn't think you were here when you didn't answer the door! I thought you'd gone for a walk."

"We were in the hot tub," the man almost croaked, backing away toward the far door. He finally dragged his eyes away from Catherine. "And we had no idea when you might come, but didn't think it would be so soon, so we decided to, umm ... keep warm by the fire ... so to speak." A faint smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth, which Robert saw, but Catherine only heard the smile in the man's voice because she couldn't look at him directly, being much too embarrassed – both for herself and for the other two! "We TRIED to sneak out, tactfully, but you'll need to fix these loose floorboards! Uhh, Robert ... now I understand everything! Well, I'll just, er, leave you alone for a while ... I AM sorry we surprised you ... and sorrier still that you surprised US, actually." He gained the safety of the room and disappeared inside, closing the door with a bit of a bang.

"I'll bet you're sorry," muttered Catherine. "God, Robert, how COULD you?"

"I forgot they were here ..." Robert said helplessly. "You drove everything out of my mind ..."

"Sure, blame me!" Catherine said sarcastically. "How incredibly arrogant!"

"Catherine ..." he took her hands, stopping her when she was reaching for her coat. Then he stopped, staring down at her left hand. "You took it off ..." he said, wonderingly.

Catherine pulled her hands away from his and pressed them together tightly to stop them shaking. How could she have been so ... so stupid?

"Why? I noticed you still had it on last night ..." Robert pressed her, his hands enveloping hers again.

"I just ... I hadn't ... I thought ..." Then Catherine lost the rest of her train of thought as he held his left hand up for her to see his bare finger.

"I took mine off, too ... when I got home from the hospital last night. I had such hopes for today, Catherine. Please, PLEASE don't let this bad start ruin any chance for a relationship! I know it's early, I know it's too soon, I know there will be a lot of problems ... but I also know that I didn't think I would ever feel the way I do again, and thanks to that one special night at Thanksgiving with you, I know that although death is a part of life, I am not dead yet. Catherine ... I love you." He spoke humbly, and Catherine realized numbly that he was speaking from his heart. She felt tears coming to her eyes. He was so SWEET! "I love you more than I had ever thought possible to love anyone again. My God, I'm over sixty years old! I had a wonderful marriage, I loved my wife dearly! I'm not SUPPOSED to be feeling like a teenager again ... but with you, I DO."

"Oh, Robert ... stop ..." she whispered.

"I'm on a roll. Just shut up and listen, all right?"

A faint sob escaped Catherine's lips as she tried to smile, and she nodded, her eyes on his.

"Catherine, I know I'm no prize. Look at me! Like most old men, I've expanded all over, double chin included. I'm cranky and opinionated. Yes, I'm a half-empty kind of guy, and you're not the only one to tell me I'm a real pain in the ahhhh!" He grinned at her expression as he repeated her words from that night a month ago. "I was married to a beautiful women and have two gorgeous daughters, a best bud for a grandson, and now, thanks to YOU, an adorable baby grand-daughter. I've already had as much happiness and love in my life as I have a right to expect, or so I thought. Then I met you, and my safe, wonderful world turned upside down. Now suddenly I'm young again, the hormones are rattling all over my body ... well, mostly in one place!" He grimaced, chuckled, then turned serious again. "Catherine, I need you in my life to KEEP me young ... I need your love to make me whole again. I love you, Catherine. Please ...?" Emotion finally choked him and closed off his throat. He could only gaze at her.

"Robert ..." she moaned, shaking visibly. "My God, Robert ..." Then another sob burst out of her, and she threw herself into his arms which welcomed her joyously. "I love you, too! I know I shouldn't, but I don't care. I don't CARE! I LOVE you!"

Their lips met again, but this time without the frantic edge to it. This time they KNEW. They had all the time in the world to love one another ... that is ... they WOULD have all the time in the world, once they were alone. Catherine pulled back slightly. "Your ... friends?"

Robert groaned. "Damn! Should have taken you to YOUR place! That's the only place we could be alone!"

"We've waited a month," Catherine smiled. Her hand smoothed down his cheek and over his lips gently. Then she leaned forward and kissed him softly again. "Call them in ... if they're dressed. Let me meet them. THEN we'll throw them out!"

With a sharp bark of laughter, Robert reluctantly released her and turned to the back of the cabin. "Joe? Hey, Joe? Clarisse? You two decent yet?"

"I'll have you know we're ALWAYS decent," announced Joe, grinning as he stepped out of their room, followed slowly by Clarisse.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Catherine couldn't meet Joe's eyes as Robert introduced his friend Joe and his wife Clarisse, then announced who Catherine was, as if they didn't know. Clarisse mumbled something as well, and at the sound of her voice, Catherine's head shot up. Incredulous, she stared at a woman who appeared to be the mirror image of herself! Joe nudged Clarisse, and she looked up finally, and her eyes went wide.

"I ... I don't believe it ..." Clarisse began. "ANOTHER ..."

"Another?" Catherine and Robert said at the same time.

"But even more marked," Joe said softly.

"Joseph," Clarisse clutched her husband's arm. "What is going on here?"

"Robert ..." Catherine stared at him, then back at Clarisse. Then a smile appeared which lit up her eyes. "I have never met my exact double before, Clarisse! How is it we've never met before?"

"Umm, before you say something as stupid as I did when I first met Clarisse, maybe I should introduce you properly?" Robert interrupted Clarisse as she was about to speak.

A faint smile crossed Clarisse's face, and she nodded ... regally, thought Catherine dazedly, wondering why that word had just inserted itself in her mind.

Robert bowed to Clarisse, then turned to Catherine and said, "May I introduce QUEEN Clarisse of Genovia?"

Catherine stared. Then she began to tremble. "I ... I saw the news the other night ... I was interested, so I looked Genovia up on the internet, and ... and there were no pictures of you! Just your grand-daughter ... Queen Amelia?"

"Yes. Mia's the news now. I'm past history, I'm afraid. I married into royalty, you see ... and now that I'm married to Joseph and Mia is queen, I'm just the dowager queen." She grimaced, not liking the word dowager.

Catherine gulped, then squared her shoulders. She liked the twinkle in Clarisse's eyes ... the eyes so much like her own! But did she CURTSEY to the queen? What was the protocol here? She looked wildly at Robert, who guessed her dilemma.

"I've given Clarisse hell the last few days because she looks like you ... so whatever you do will be fine, I'm sure," Robert grinned at Catherine, then at Clarisse. "And before we get settled in here, I just want to say that, although Lori promised to cook our Christmas dinner, she obviously isn't going to be able to do that now, so we're on our own today ..."

Catherine and Clarisse both exclaimed at the same time and in the same tone of voice, "Don't look at ME! I don't cook!" Then they looked at each other, and laughed.

Within five minutes it became quite clear to the men that something unusual was happening that morning. There was no jealousy, no upstaging, no competition. Whether it was the chemistry between Clarisse and Catherine or simply that they were the same kind of nut, as Robert put it later, they seemed to be at their best. They were instantaneous best friends. They linked arms, moved to the couch, and began sharing their life stories. Robert and Joe looked at each other, then shrugged.

"I guess we're on dinner detail," Robert said. "Macaroni and cheese sound okay to you, Joe?"

O o O o O o

"Robert, would it be possible for Joseph and I to telephone Mia in Genovia? We'll pay the costs, of course," Clarisse asked, mid-morning.

"Oh, hey, of course! I didn't think. Yeah, sure! Be my guest!" Robert waved to the phone. Then he got up and moved one of the chairs from the table over to the wall by the telephone. "There! Now you can even SIT and talk to her!"

"Thank you," Clarisse smiled.

Joseph came over and did the dialing. He spoke first to the switchboard, then to Charlotte, wishing her a Merry Christmas and asking her to pass their greetings on to Shades. Then Clarisse snatched the telephone receiver from Joseph's hand.

"Charlotte?"

"Merry Christmas, your Majesty!" Charlotte sounded happy, Clarisse thought. "How is your vacation going?"

"Very well indeed! Charlotte ... about Shades ..."

"Y-yes, your Majesty?" now Charlotte's voice sounded a little wary.

"Have you kissed him under the mistletoe yet?" Clarisse couldn't resist asking.

There was a slight pause, then Charlotte's cool voice came back on the line. "Yes, your Majesty, your grand-daughter is standing right here, eager to take the telephone from me and wish you a Merry Christmas."

Then Mia's bubbly voice was on the line. "Grandma? Merry Christmas! How is your Christmas going? We're having so much fun here ... Trevor is a big hit! He doesn't care about anything, of course, but he loves the scrunching of the paper ..."

O o O o O o

"Catherine? While they're on the phone, let me show you what I've done to the cabin."

Catherine turned to Robert in surprise. "What you've done to it?"

He took her hand in his, and pulled her up, grinning. "I'm not just a pretty face, you know! I really AM a carpenter. Now, remember ... the bedroom up there?" and he pointed up to the loft.

"Hmm. I remember you standing at the bottom of the ladder and saying you were not about to climb up there," Catherine chuckled.

"Well, I'm still not. Once was enough, thank you. I don't think anyone has been up there in a hundred years."

"A hundred years?"

"Just a metaphor. SO, I built on some bedrooms." He ushered her through the back entry. "Oh, hang on! Forgot about this glass! Damn!"

"Well, you DID break the window to get into your own house!" Catherine pointed out, smiling.

"Just for effect!" Efficiently he grabbed a broom and soon had the glass in a neat pile by the wall. Putting the broom over it and promising to get the rest later, he took Catherine's hand again and exuberantly drew her over to one of the doors. Throwing it open, he said, "There! What do you think of this bedroom? It's not finished, of course, but ..."

Catherine caught her breath as she stood in the doorway and her eyes went from the large bay window to the fireplace ... to the king-sized bed with rumpled bedclothes. Yes, the walls were unfinished, with the insulation stapled to the studs, but it was roomy and comfortable-looking.

"There's an identical bedroom over there – we share a fireplace in between the ensuite bathrooms. Joe and Clarisse are in that one. Catherine?"

She turned to face him, her eyes shining. "It's beautiful, Robert. You've done a wonderful ..."

Before she could finish, he had taken her in his arms. "I love you, Catherine! So very, very much ... Please ... marry me and live here with me? Share this room with me, this cabin with me ... your life with me? Let's run away, elope! We'll go on an extended tour of the world for our honeymoon! What do you say, Catherine? Will you marry me?"

"Robert, I ... I don't know what to say ..." Catherine didn't want to resist him, but there were so many unanswered questions and details and ... and complications! "I DO love you, but ... but how will Jaclyn and Lori feel about this? What about my job? YOUR job? People will say it's too soon!" She longed to run away with Robert, to head into the horizon without a backward look. But she knew that wasn't possible. She was too old for that sort of thing. She had responsibilities and duties. She had a career, patients ... my God, she was a grown-up and couldn't 'play' anymore! However much she wanted to live with him here or ANYWHERE, and to love him fiercely with no obligation to anyone else, she had to think about all these other things. That was who SHE was! A responsible, conscientious, upstanding member of society.

The touch of his lips on her cheek was gentle, then on her forehead, then on her eyelids. She smiled and remained acquiescent in his arms. His lips travelled to her ear, and the hot breath made her shiver slightly with anticipation. "I love you," he whispered.

Unable to resist him any longer, she turned her head and captured his lips with hers. The kiss deepened. Her hands travelled up and clung to his shoulders, a moan caught in her throat.

"Catherine ..." he began, but couldn't bring himself to pull away. He kissed her over and over, almost chanting her name as a litany. "Catherine, Catherine, Catherine ... I want you ... I've wanted you since that night ... I've seen you in my dreams ...!"

"No, Robert, no, stop!" she begged breathlessly. "We can't ... not now ... not yet ... C-Clarisse and ... Joe ..."

With a low groan and a nod, Robert visibly restrained himself. He still held her closely for a moment, then, taking a deep breath, released her. "You're right." His voice was deep and husky, his breathing still erratic, his heart thumping against hers. "But soon ... soon, Catherine!"

O o O o O o

After a makeshift noon meal that Robert and Joseph threw together, the four friends were trying to decide what they were going to do that afternoon. Joseph was leaning back in his chair, watching the two women and marvelling at how much Clarisse had changed even in the few hours she had known Catherine. He had never seen her relax so quickly before. She and Nan had gotten along very well indeed, but Catherine was like the other half of Clarisse's soul. His wife was laughing, teasing and enjoying herself thoroughly. The process of bringing Queen Clarisse back to life which had begun with the advent of Mia and which he had thought had culminated in their marriage was blossoming in a new dimension now. Joseph was delighted to see Clarisse so happy. His eyes moved to Catherine, who was laughing herself, then to Robert who was watching the women with an indulgent smile. Joseph nodded inwardly again. Catherine was obviously the very special person Robert had said she was when first describing her to Joseph. He hoped the two would be every bit as happy and fulfilled in their lives as he and Clarisse were in theirs.

Then Joseph became aware that Clarisse and Catherine were working hard to convince Robert that he should go back to the hospital to see his new grandchild, not to mention the rest of his family.

Robert shook his head. "Can't," he shrugged. "The Suburban's in the ditch, remember?"

"I had nothing to do with it this time!" Catherine insisted, as she had in the car just that morning.

"This time?" Clarisse's eyebrows rose.

"And we might not have hit the ditch when I was driving had Robert not suddenly gone crazy and grabbed the wheel!" Catherine frowned at him. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that you are NOT to touch the wheel if someone else is driving?"

"When the car is spinning all over the road and the person at the wheel has no idea how to steer out of a skid, I figure it's up to me to save the day," Robert leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms as if daring her to argue further.

Catherine might have argued further, but the ring of the telephone interrupted them. Robert got to his feet with a grunt and answered it.

"Who? JOEY? Uh, just a minute," he held his hand over the receiver and looked at Joseph. "A woman ... calling you JOEY?"

"Nan!" Joseph and Clarisse exclaimed together. Joseph took the phone from Robert with a grin. "Merry Christmas, Nan, to you and W ..." His face changed and he stopped talking. Clarisse stiffened, then was at his side in a moment. "I see. No, of course we don't mind. We'll be there as soon as we can be! Don't be silly, Nan! You're practically family, so what better way to spend Christmas ...? And don't worry about Wilkes. He's in good hands, I'm sure. We'll meet you at the hospital. We love you, Nanny. See you soon. Bye."

He hung up the telephone and looked at the others. "Nan had to call an ambulance for Wilkes. They think he has had a heart attack. We should go ..."

"Of course you have to go!" Robert said. "In fact, I'll take you! DAMN! The Suburban! We probably can't get a tow truck on Christmas Day, either!"

"Can we go see if it's possible to push it out, with four of us?" suggested Joseph.

"It IS four-wheel drive," added Catherine, "and it's not in too deep. You almost got it out yourself this morning without a push!"

"If we can get out ... will you come with us, Catherine?" Robert asked.

"Please?" Clarisse spoke as well, for the first time since hearing the news. Her face was white.

"Clarisse? Are you all right?" Joseph's arm went around his wife.

"I'll ... I'll be fine." And indeed, she looked calm and businesslike on the surface. But the other three could see the tension in her eyes, the lines around her mouth, and in the slight shaking of her hands.

"Well, let's get this show on the road ... hopefully!" Robert said.

He went into the entryway and started handing out the coats, and everyone put on boots, hats and mitts. Looking sternly at Catherine, Robert added, "And for God's sake, do up your coat this time!"

The four walked down the road to the vehicle in relative silence, only the rapid crunching of the snow underfoot betraying their inner agitation.

"Do you ladies both want to get in and Joe and I will push?" Robert suggested.

Catherine put her hands on her hips. "Do I seem grossly incompetent to you?" she demanded. "I can push just as well as you can!"

"I know." He took the wind out of her sails by dropping a quick kiss on her lips. "You're the most competent person I know, Catherine. So fine, you stand at this corner and push ... and for God's sake, jump out of the way if it starts to come back on you!"

Rolling her eyes, Catherine nevertheless took up her stance. Clarisse bit her lip and got into the driver's seat. It had been a very, VERY long time since she had sat behind the wheel of a vehicle! She looked around for the clutch pedal, and didn't see it. Her panicked eyes found Joseph's, and he came up to the window which Clarisse lowered.

"It's all right, Clarisse," he said softly. "See that lever there? Put your right foot on the left pedal, that's it, now, keeping your foot there, pull the lever towards you gently, then down so that indicator right there goes to the 'R'. Good." He braced himself against the car door, and looked back at the others. "Ready?"

At their nod, he said to Clarisse, "When we yell stop, put your foot back on the brake where it is, all right? But now, take your foot off the left pedal and push it hard on the right pedal."

As Clarisse pushed on the gas pedal, the tires spun madly, and, with the help of the pushers, the Suburban actually backed up a bit.

"Brake, Clarisse, and hold it!" Joseph shouted.

She did. The others rested for a moment, then stepped forward ready to push again. After a few moments of stops and starts, the Suburban actually shot back onto the road, leaving Catherine staggering in the snow, Robert flat on his face, and Joseph yelling, "BRAKE, CLARISSE!"

Fortunately, Clarisse managed to prevent the Suburban from hitting the snowbank on the other side of the road, and she carefully put the vehicle back into park, shaking violently. That was one experience she wouldn't mind never having again! Opening the door, she climbed out and almost collapsed on the icy road when her legs didn't want to hold her. Then Joseph was there, his arms around her, his lips on hers as he murmured, "You did well, my love!"

"Well, now we have a vehicle!" Robert beamed as he came up, brushing the snow off his chest. "Er, do you want to drop Catherine and I back at the cabin? I can phone Jeff to come and get us. Or would you like us to come with you?"

"We'd be ever so grateful if you could come," Joseph said, his arm still supporting Clarisse. "Both of you. We need Robert to drive, and Catherine to be the doctor in residence!"

"I'm a pediatric cardiologist!" Catherine protested. "PEDIATRIC!"

"A heart's a heart, isn't it?" Robert asked. "Just different sizes! Can you come?"

Catherine hesitated. She knew what she WANTED to do, but ... but she had responsibilities! Then she bit her lip, and pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, dialing her answering service. "Yes, it's Dr. Howard. I'm going to be away for a few days. I'll be in touch tomorrow morning to give you more news about my return. Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you, too." Then she shut the mobile and slid it back into her coat pocket. "I'm ready to go when you all are."

Clarisse hugged her tightly, and whispered, "Thank you!" before getting into the Suburban's back seat.

Joseph climbed in beside his wife, and Catherine allowed Robert to open the passenger door for her and assist her in. He squeezed her arm gently, and his eyes expressed his gratitude and joy that she was coming with them. Then Robert slid in behind the wheel. "Well ... we're off!"

"Wait!" Catherine cried, and put her hand on the dashboard when Robert slammed on the brakes.

"WHAT?"

"Don't you think you should let your family know where you are going? They might worry!" Catherine reminded him.

"You mean they might think I've kidnapped you and disappeared into a black hole in order to make mad, passionate love to you endlessly through the day and night?" he grinned.

"ROBERT!" she protested, but her eyes twinkled. Then she took out her phone again. "I'll call Lori. I KNOW that number!" She dialed the hospital and got put through to Lori's room. Succinctly she passed on the message that Robert's friends needed to get to New York City urgently because another friend was in critical condition in the hospital there, and that she and Robert were taking them. Lori didn't sound at all surprised, and just wished them a safe trip and asked Catherine to let them know when they were back from the city.

"NOW we're off," Catherine said, dropping the phone back into her pocket and smiling at the others. "And for God's sake, Robert, DRIVE CAREFULLY!"

O o O o O o To Be Continued


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

When Clarisse, Catherine, Joseph and Robert entered the hospital, Joseph kept his hand on the small of Clarisse's back and guided her towards the Information counter. He asked where Sir Wilkes was being treated, and was given the floor and room number.

"But it's the Intensive Care Unit, sir," the woman said, eying the four adults. "Only family is allowed in ICU, and only two at a time. Sir Wilkes is a VERY sick man, you know!"

Clarisse's heart sank at the news. Poor Nan. Poor Wilkes! But Joseph merely continued, saying, "I see. Well, my wife and this other woman are his sisters-in-law, which you could probably tell if you knew Sir Wilkes' wife."

"OH! Oh, my! Indeed they ARE Lady Nan's sisters!" The woman became flustered. "That means ... they're royalty, too? I mean, he's a KNIGHT! Then OF COURSE you may go up!"

Clarisse smiled gently. "Thank you," was all she said before turning away.

Catherine was still staring at Joseph as they walked away from Information. "You ... why did you say that? We aren't related, even if Clarisse is! Why would they think I'm your friend's sister? Joseph, I'm a doctor! I would be allowed in anyway!"

"When you see Nan, you'll see why I could say that and get away with it," Joseph said. "Come on, I don't want to have Nan worrying by herself any longer than she has to!"

"Or worse, having her have to deal with Eloise by herself," Clarisse muttered.

"I would hope that someone has enough sense to keep Eloise away at a time like this," Joseph growled. Neither offered any explanation to Robert or Catherine for their comments.

They went up in the elevator, then hurried down the corridor. Just before reaching the ICU, they passed a waiting room. Clarisse glanced in, then stopped. "Nan?" she whispered.

Joseph looked around to see, then he and Clarisse hurried in to the woman huddled on the chair with her face buried in her hands. The late afternoon sun shone weakly through the window of the room. Robert and Catherine looked at each other, then slipped in to hover just inside the door.

"Nanny? Nan, we're here," Joseph put his arms around his old friend and turned her to face him.

"Joey!" Nan hugged him tightly, keeping her face buried in his shoulder. "Oh, Joey, thank you so, so, so much for coming! Joey, Willy's so sick ... and they aren't telling me anything ... Joey, I don't want to lose, lose, LOSE him!"

"Nan? Tell us what happened ..." Clarisse put her arms around Nan as well. The other woman gripped her arm, but didn't lift her head.

"Oh, Clarisse ... no, I can't, can't, can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?" Joseph was puzzled. "What happened to Wilkes?"

"It was my fault. He didn't want to. I kept teasing him to do it ... and I'll never forgive myself, for sure, sure, sure!"

The four who had just arrived looked at each other. Clarisse had wild thoughts running through her head, but could not believe she was right! "Nan?" she said again. "Tell us. We're friends. You know you can say anything to us."

"Willy didn't SAY he was too tired! But he ... and I ... Oh, my Lord, I can't believe I insisted!"

"Nan ..." Joseph hesitated, then forged ahead with the question they all were longing to ask. "Were you and Wilkes making love?"

Robert hastily suppressed a grin when Catherine frowned at him. Then the two slipped out of the room. This was too personal for strangers to hear!

Nan looked up at Joseph and Clarisse in shock. Her blue eyes were dry, but so full of anguish that Clarisse ached to see them. Then Nan's face flushed brilliantly and she dropped her eyes swiftly. "No, no, no, Joey!" she exclaimed in a horrified voice. "It was just before LUNCH, for Lord's sake! Sir Wilkes is a gentleman!"

Clarisse stared at Joseph and saw the amusement cross his face, and felt her lips twitch. She hoped Nan hadn't seen it.

"Then what was it?" Joseph asked again patiently.

"I wanted a wreath hung over the arch to the kitchenette. He said he would need a ladder, but I told him he could just use a CHAIR! So he climbed up, and, oh, it's all my fault, for sure, sure, sure!" she moaned again, feeling so bereft.

"He fell?" Clarisse asked gently.

"No. He ... he just ..." Nan paused, remembering.

_Nan put the chair in place, and helped Willy to stand up on it. He had one hand on her shoulder as he got his balance, then she handed him the hammer and nail. As he hammered, she put her hands on his hips to steady him ..._

"_Nan," he growled. "You're playing with fire!"_

"_Hmmm. YOUR fire, for sure, sure, sure, Willy!"_

_He groaned, then quickly hung the wreath she handed him and turned to get down. His face was flushed and beads of sweat were appearing on his forehead. Nan smiled to see it, thinking he was as aroused as she was. He dropped onto the chair and she sat on his knee, kissing him. He mumbled her name and reached to hold her ... but his hand fell to his side, then his head fell back. Nan screamed and jumped up, horrified. Oh my Lord, had she KILLED him?_

"He had finished and was sitting down ... and just like that, he fainted! I was kiss, kiss, kissing him to thank him!"

Clarisse bit her lip.

"Just a little kiss?" Joseph asked, faint scepticism in his voice. Clarisse frowned at him.

"Well ... maybe not so little ..." Nan mumbled. Then her head shot up. "But don't you say a WORD, Joseph! Do you hear me? Not one, one, one word! It's rawther humiliating! And don't YOU be laughing, Clarisse, either. Don't think I haven't heard the stories of YOU two in the palace in Genovia!"

Clarisse and Joseph were immobilized with astonishment. Stories about THEM? Nan had heard stories about THEM? They looked at each other blankly. Then Joseph mouthed, "Shades!" and Clarisse felt an almost hysterical laugh building up inside.

Nan, however, dropped her head back into her hands. "But oh, my Willy! I shouldn't have persisted. Willy, my Willy, I absolutely cannot live without you!"

At the anguish in Nan's voice, Clarisse lost her urge to laugh. She hugged Nan again. "Don't think about it any more, Nan. The important thing is to have Wilkes well again. What have the doctors said?"

"Absolutely nothing I can understand!" Nan almost wailed.

"THAT we can do something about." Joseph said. "We have someone with us you must meet, Nan. She's a heart doctor ..."

"A PEDIATRIC cardiologist, Joe!" Robert's voice floated through the door, proving that although they had afforded the three a bit of privacy, they still had been listening at the door. "She wants you to remember that! She really can't help your friend! Wrong state, too."

"Come in, you two, and meet Nan properly!" Joseph called out.

Nan hastily tried to tidy her fly-away hair, muttering, "Aoww, I must look a FRIGHT." Then, when Robert walked in, with Catherine close behind, Nan clutched Clarisse's hand tightly and closed her eyes. "I am losing my mind. I'm seeing things. You're right HERE, Clarisse, for Lord's sake!" Then she peeked at Catherine again. "AND there! Oh, my sainted Aunt Fanny!"

"If you had an Aunt Fanny, and I very much doubt that, I'm sure she was no saint, Nan!" Joseph grinned. "This is Dr. Catherine Howard, and another of my old friends, Robert Woodward. They drove us up."

"Oh, my stars, stars, stars!" Nanny couldn't say anything else. She just stared.

Catherine and Robert were doing their own share of staring. Then Catherine swallowed. "Well," she said at last, "You can certainly tell that Clarisse is your sister, but I'm not sure why I look like you both!"

"Oh, Nan isn't my sister," Clarisse said before Nan, who was overcome at having been thought to be related to a queen, could say anything. "Actually, Nan's husband, Wilkes, was a very good childhood friend, and I didn't meet Nan until this year!"

"Are you seriously trying to tell me that those three women are not related in any way?" Robert stared at Joseph, then back at the women.

"Not in any way," Joseph said. "Isn't it incredible? They DO say everyone in the world has a double, but they're in triplicate in this case!"

"Wait until Willy sees Cath ..." Nan broke off her sentence, and instinctively she turned once more to her old friend Joseph. "Joey? He WILL be all right, won't he? Perhaps you could ask?"

"If you will permit me, Nan," Catherine spoke up, "or should I call you Lady Nan?"

"Just Nan, for Lord's sake! I'm not really a lady at all, for sure, sure, sure!" Nan said hastily.

"Of course you're a lady," Joseph said, frowning at Nan, "and not simply because you married Sir Wilkes. You are every inch a lady and always have been!"

"Aoww, you are just saying that!" Nan flushed. "My upbringing ... well, it was rawther poor ..." she confessed, then burst out, "Perhaps I married above my station, but he said he loved me, he did!"

Clarisse's hands covered Nan's, which were trembling in her agitation. "Nan, Wilkes DOES love you, and he always will. We know that as well as you do. And let's have no more talk of 'stations'! Now, shall we listen to what Dr. Howard has to say?"

"Call me Catherine, please," Now it was Catherine's turn to redden slightly. "Nan, I was just going to ask if you would permit me to try to talk to the doctor or nurse in charge of your husband's case. Then I'll come back and report."

"That would be absolutely divine, divine, divine," Nan said gratefully.

O o O o O o

As he was becoming aware of things around him, conscious of a dull ache and a fierce pressure on his chest, Wilkes lay listening to Nan as she talked quietly to him. Although he was too tired to move, or even open his eyes, he listened to her voice and his heart filled with love for her. HIS Nan. The only one to ever look at him as if he were the most magnificent man to ever walk the earth. He loved her crazy antics, he loved that she adored him so fiercely, he loved her quick mind that often was one step ahead of him, but most of all, he loved her big heart. He couldn't leave her now! It was MUCH too soon! His heart thumped painfully and he groaned faintly.

"Willy? Willy, can you hear me?" Nan's voice by his ear was still quiet, but now urgent.

He struggled to say her name, but it came out little more than a breathless groan, "Na-an." His eyes had weights on them, he couldn't open them.

He recognized Nan's touch as she took his hand and brought it to her face. He felt the tears streaming down her cheeks wet the back of his hand, and he wanted to kiss them away, to caress her until her lovely smile chased away all the shadows in her beautiful blue eyes.

"Are you in pain, Willy?"

Pain? No, it was more of an ache, a lethargy, and an inability to move. Aware of other voices in the room, he wished he could open his eyes to see. Most of all, he wanted to reassure his beloved wife. "L ...love ... Na ..n."

Then Wilkes heard Nan's voice ... no ... it was quicker ... not the same accent ... more ... precise ... he knew that voice, too. For a moment he struggled to remember, then relaxed suddenly. Clarisse! He had no idea why he was obviously sick in Genovia ... or why his friend had come so far to see him when he was sick ... but he was grateful that Nan was not alone. A third voice joined the crowd around him, and Wilkes frowned slightly. Clarisse again? No ... but very similar. Charlotte? No ... He couldn't guess, and it was too much effort. At least Nan was not alone. Comforted by that knowledge, Wilkes slid back into the restful, healing dark.

O o O o O o

"So it's something to do with the electrical impulses in his heart? That's why he's going to need a pacemaker?" Clarisse asked Catherine as they walked down the corridor to the elevator after visiting hours finished that night.

"And they're going to put it in tomorrow?" Nan asked, walking on Catherine's other side.

"Yes to all three," Catherine smiled. "It's not really much of a surgery. He's awake through it all."

"Why is he sleeping so much now?"

"All the drugs they gave him to try to stop the heart from racing, then to keep it from stopping completely." Catherine explained. She repeated her words for Joseph and Robert to hear as they crowded closer. Then, sitting in the crowded taxi so close to Robert that he had his arm around her to give them more elbow room, Catherine tried to tune out the joyous humming in her veins at Robert's nearness as she gave the entire explanation again on the way to the Plaza Hotel where Nan had insisted they stay with her. Joseph had tried to get separate rooms, but nothing was available.

It was strange, Catherine thought as she looked up at the huge building where they were to stay on the sixteenth floor, but she felt very comfortable with these four people, three of whom had been complete strangers just this morning! Not even with William and Marina had she ever been able to relax this much. Only with Tom had she felt as completely accepted for who she was. The thought of her late husband brought no tears this time, only a thankfulness that she had been blessed by his presence for twenty-six years. This Christmas Day had brought not only the possibility of a new love into her life, but also new friendships which were already firm and fast.

As they walked in the doors of the Plaza Hotel, Nan greeted the doorman by name. Charlie touched his cap to her, then his mouth fell open when he saw Clarisse and Catherine. Stupefied, Charlie stared after them as they passed the thirty-foot Christmas tree in the lobby. Then Mr. Salomone was bowing to Nan, while his wide-eyed stare was on the other two women.

"Y-your Majesty?" the manager stammered, looking from Catherine to Clarisse, then back again. "It IS your Majesty, Queen Clarisse of Genovia, is it not? I would recognize you anywhere! Yes, I would!" His gaze finally settled on Catherine and he spoke to her quickly and ingratiatingly. "We are honoured, yes, DEEPLY honoured that you and your husband have returned to the Plaza Hotel ... to be with our Lady Nan in her time of distress. And you have brought your third sister and HER husband! I am SO sorry we have no rooms available, but rest assured, you may use any of the services that we offer, yes, you may! Because it is Christmas night, I'm afraid all the restaurants have closed early, but I am CERTAIN that you can get whatever you wish from Room Service!"

"Thank you, Mr. Salomone," Nan said graciously.

"The beds have all been freshly made up in your suite, of course, and the sofa bed turned down and made as well, Lady Nan! THANK you, your Majesty," again his bow was to Catherine, who looked askance at Clarisse, who grinned back and said nothing, "for having chosen to return here, to the Plaza ... a five-star hotel ..."

"NAA-NNYYY!" a shrill screech interrupted Mr. Salomone's effusive speech, and a small, blond whirlwind descended on the group.

Nan's arms opened wide. "Merry Christmas, Eloise! I'm glad to see you tonight, pet! I had thought I might miss you, for sure, sure, sure!"

"Oh, Nanny, I absolutely could NOT have missed wishing you a Merry Christmas. Not THIS year! Not when Sir Wilkes is so sick. Well?" the child looked up at Nan expectantly, her arms still tightly about her waist.

"Well, what, love?" Nan looked down at the small child.

"Are you staying with us again tonight? Maman came, but she said we would find someplace for you!"

"Not tonight, pet, but thank your mother VERY much. I have friends staying with me tonight ... friends you KNOW, Eloise!"

Eloise finally looked around at that point. Her eyes grew wide. "QUEEN CLARISSE! SIR JOSEPH!" She started to run to Clarisse, then skidded to a stop, her gaze going to Catherine, then back to Clarisse, then to Joseph.

Catherine noticed she ignored Robert, and her lips twitched as she saw his small frown of disgruntlement at the slight. He drew closer to her and whispered, "At least this kid doesn't think you're Queen Clarisse, even if that bobbing mannequin DID!" Catherine suppressed her grin, but her eyes danced.

Then Eloise dashed up to Clarisse and curtsied deeply. "Your Majesty!" she announced. "I absolutely KNOW it's you because Sir Joseph has his hand on his back like he usually does! But who is that? Your REAL twin sister?" She marched up to Catherine. "Hello. I'm Eloise. I'm seven!"

"This, Eloise, is Dr. Howard. She came with us to help with Sir Wilkes," Clarisse said.

"But she looks just like you, and a lot like Nanny!"

"Yes, she does, doesn't she?" Nan smiled.

"I saw you on television the other night, Eloise," Catherine said. "Did you see it? The reporters thought you might be a princess."

Eloise beamed. "I DID see it! Wasn't it funny? They thought Nanny was Queen Clarisse, too, for Lord's sake! But WE knew, didn't we, Nanny! And Sir Wilkes told the taxi driver to drive like crazy and lose, lose, lose them, and he DID!" Then Eloise's face changed, and she ran and hugged Nan tightly again. Looking up earnestly, she asked, "How IS Sir Wilkes, Nanny?"

"He'll be fine, fine, fine, Eloise," Nan said. "He's sleeping right now. Dr. Howard thinks he MIGHT even be home in a few days. Isn't that wonderful news?"

"It's absolutely DIVINE!" Eloise cried happily. Then she hugged Nanny again and said, "I promised Maman I'd go right back up after I saw you, so I'm going! Bye, Nanny. Bye, Queen Clarisse and Sir Joseph! Bye, Dr. ... and ... and man ..." and she whirled away.

"Well, MAN," Joseph said to Robert as they watched Eloise disappear up the staircase, "shall we keep going?"

Catherine, Nan and Clarisse all chuckled as Robert scowled at his friend. Then Nan led them to the elevator.

"Hello, Max," she said to the man operating the lift.

"Lady Nan," he acknowledged, but kept his eyes on the buttons as they went up, and never said another word.

On the sixteenth floor, they went on down the corridor to where Nan and Wilkes lived. Nan unlocked the door and stepped aside to let the others enter. "There we are, now!" Nan said, closing the door behind herself. "I expect you're all tired, tired, tired! Clarisse and Joey, you can have the bedroom over there. Catherine and Robert, you take our bedroom."

"Oh, but ..." Catherine began, but Nan shook her head firmly.

"I insist! With Willy in the hospital, I haven't been sleeping very well, and I can stay out here on the sofa bed where I can watch television and read and maybe make myself a cup of tea in the night and not disturb anyone."

"Nan, Catherine and ..." Clarisse started to say.

Nan frowned at her. "I SAID, your Majesty, that I INSIST, for Lord's sake! How could I possibly come out and move around if someone is trying to sleep on the bed here?"

Catherine and Robert looked at each other for a moment, then Catherine nodded to Nan and said gently, "Very well, Nan, we'll take your room, and thank you so much for giving it up to us."

"Aoww," Nan blushed a little. "It's the least I can do for you. You've been such a big help to me ..."

"Robert hasn't done a THING for you, Nan," Joseph said slyly, "but you're rewarding HIM!"

Clarisse coughed to cover her laugh, and Robert scowled at his friend. "If it hadn't been for ME, none of you would have gotten here! I think I deserve a reward for THAT!"

"Aoww, that you do," Nan patted his hand. "I was SO pleased that you came and brought the others. Thank you. And you haven't even been very grumpy about it, either! Not that I have seen. Catherine told me at supper that when she first met you, she thought you were a terribly opinionated, pessimistic grouch, but that you sort of grew on her."

"Oh, Catherine said that, did she?" Robert raised his eyebrows and looked at Catherine who wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Does anyone want anything before we go to bed?" Nan asked.

"I think we have everything we need with us, Nan," Clarisse said, and Catherine nodded. They had stopped at her place as they went past and given her a few minutes to throw some toiletries and clothes into an overnight bag.

"Good night, Nan," Joseph gave Nan a hug, and she clung to him for a few minutes.

Then she lifted a teary face to him and whispered, "Thank you, Joey. Thank you so very, very much! I love you. You always took such great care of me, and you still are. Thank you."

"Love you, too, Nan," Joseph hugged her again, and kissed her cheek.

Then Clarisse was in Nan's arms, and Nan was whispering her thanks to her. Catherine stood by, wondering how they had all met and determined to get the story from someone soon. She knew Clarisse and Wilkes had been friends since they were children, and she knew Robert and Joseph had been excellent friends in the past and still were. But what did Joseph and Nan have in common, that she called him 'Joey' and he had 'always' taken care of her?

Coming over and hugging Catherine, Clarisse whispered, "I HOPE tonight is all right ... if you want, I'll say something and I can stay in one room with you, and we'll put Joseph and Robert together."

Catherine swallowed, and her eyes met Clarisse's compassionate, knowing gaze. Then her eyes flitted to Robert. Seeing the look in HIS eyes, Catherine swallowed again. "No. I ... I want this ... I want ... Robert. I love him. Thank you, though."

"I hoped that would be your answer," was Clarisse's soft reply. She raised her voice only slightly. "Good night, Catherine. It doesn't seem like we just met this morning, because I feel so close to you already."

"I know. I feel the same," Catherine spoke around the lump in her throat. A lump? Fear? Anticipation?

In just a few moments, Robert and Catherine were shown to the bedroom they would share ... and they were left alone.

O o O o O o To Be Continued


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

Robert looked at the queen-sized bed, and said nothing. He couldn't look Catherine in the face. Not yet. He dropped his bag on the floor, and hoisted hers onto the empty desktop. She still had not made a sound. Irritated by his uncomfortable feeling, he glared at her abruptly. "What?" he asked.

Catherine said nothing, only regarded him steadily.

"It wasn't my fault!" he blustered.

Still she remained silent.

"Oh, fine. FINE! Now this is all MY fault!" he gritted out between clenched teeth, throwing up his arms. Then he froze. What was he doing? Besides acting like a complete idiot, that is. He cleared his throat. "Catherine?" he said huskily.

"Yes, Robert?"

Thank God she was still speaking to him. "Thank you," he said humbly. "Thank you for last night ... for my grand-daughter. Thank you for this morning ... for trusting me enough to come with me blindly. Thank you for liking my friends and for continuing to put up with me throughout a long day. Thank you for ..."

"Oh, God, Robert, you're going to make me cry! Stop it!" Catherine half-laughed.

He looked at her, and sure enough, saw tears in her eyes. Then they were in each other's arms, their kisses sweet and lingering. "I love you," Robert breathed at last. "I just want you to know that."

"Damn, I swore I wouldn't cry like this again!" She wiped her tears away hastily.

"Again?" He kissed her eyelids, and licked the one teardrop that had escaped.

"Yesterday. Last night." She rubbed her face against him, then chuckled at the rough feel.

"Over me?" He smoothed his fingers down her cheek, then tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Partially," she admitted softly, her lips feathering light kisses over his cheek.

"Was it as rough on you as it was on me? This last month?"

"It was ... rough," she confessed, her hands tightening on his arms as his lips pressed kisses on her ear. She arched her head and he kissed down her throat. "Pr-probably worse on you." She gasped when his tongue touched her skin, then he dragged it in a long, slow lick back up to her ear.

"I ... Catherine, that night ... it was very special, but ... I didn't fall in love with you then. I couldn't. If I had been free, I ..." he choked up, unable to continue.

"Oh, Robert, I know!" she smiled through her tears. "I know. Robert, I think I fell in love with you that night when you soothed my hurt about being childless by saying I was probably meant to save that one special child. Then I fell deeper in love when you told me that it was a shame I hadn't been picked up since childhood because I NEEDED picking up. But the moment that you told me the truth about MaryBeth ... well, that's when I passed the point of no return. I KNEW that anyone who felt that way about his wife ... the way I had felt about Tom ... I KNEW I loved you deeply and irrevocably and forever. WHATEVER you felt about me, I KNEW I loved you."

"Catherine ... I ... damn it, now you're going to make ME cry!"

They held each other close, and kissed again, very gently. Then Robert said, "Catherine, I lied. I DID fall in love with you that night. But I couldn't accept it. I refused to accept it."

She sniffed a little, smiled shakily, then held out her hand. "I want my one hundred dollars."

"What? WHAT hundred dollars?" he drew back slightly, and stared at her.

"I bet you a hundred dollars that you couldn't keep your promise to never lie to me again."

He chuckled, and his hands framed her face. He studied her for a moment, then his lips touched hers again lightly. "I couldn't say what I WANTED to ..."

"I know," she put her finger on his lips to stop him. "But I want SOME restoration. Maybe I'll take it out in kisses ..."

He kissed her finger. "Catherine?"

"Hmm?"

His hands slid down from her face, down her arms, then rested on her hips. "I'm really, really tired. And, nice though this place is ... it's not really conducive to ... well ... I'm not sure I feel comfortable ..."

"Robert?" she interrupted him. "Just because I admitted that I loved you and because I almost lost it in your arms this morning, doesn't mean I'm going to make love with you right away."

He looked surprised. "But ... I thought ... you seemed so ..." Then he had the grace to look abashed. "I'm sorry again. I was about to say something way out of line ..."

Catherine kissed him one more time, then pushed out of his arms. "You may have the bathroom first."

He nodded, his hands reluctantly releasing her. "I'll be right back."

"Take your time. I plan to." Catherine teased him gently. She turned to her bag and rummaged through it for her pyjamas and cosmetic bag.

When Robert emerged from the bathroom, he smiled to see that she had turned down the bed and was waiting patiently for her turn. "I'll try to wait up for you," he yawned, "so don't be too long."

She kissed him swiftly, then disappeared into the bathroom, where she changed into her pyjamas, then began her nightly ritual of cleansing. Noticing her hand was shaking slightly, she steadied it with a frown. Yes, it would be the first time she had gone to bed with a man not her husband, but it wasn't as if they were planning to DO anything! Remembering again the glorious feelings she had experienced in his arms that morning, she wondered if she was being crazy to not want their first time as lovers to be in a borrowed bed with three almost-strangers in the next room. Maybe it would work. They were both experienced. They could handle it quietly, couldn't they? She bit her lip as her hand trembled again. Oh, dear.

Her concerns were unnecessary, as she heard Robert's faint snoring when she finally opened the bathroom door. For a moment she stood looking down at him, and her heart filled with love for this man who could be so infuriating one moment, and so loveable the next.

About to slip into the bed beside him, Catherine paused. Had she just heard what she THOUGHT she had heard? Listening intently, the sound became unmistakable. Faint though it was, it sounded like Nan was crying bitterly, and trying to suppress it. Catherine's heart went out to the other woman. She simply could NOT turn her back on Nan right now. She softly opened the door to the dimly-lit living room and looked across it to see the door to Clarisse and Joseph's room opening, too. Clarisse appeared in the doorway, looking as undecided as Catherine felt. Their eyes met, then Clarisse waved for Catherine to come with her as she stepped out of her room and closed the door quietly behind herself. Catherine did the same. In spite of the circumstances, Catherine had to smile when she realized that they were wearing almost identical silky pyjamas. They met at the archway to the kitchenette. Nan's heartbreaking, choked sobs continued to come from the sofa bed.

"Will she be upset if we go to her?" Catherine whispered.

"I don't know," Clarisse whispered back, "I don't think so. But I can't stand listening to her!"

"I know. I don't know her well at all, but I want to put my arms around her, and assure her that it will be all right, that her Willy will be fine!"

"She's still so uncertain about everything. She can't quite believe that Wilkes loves her for who she is, and that we all accept her and love her as well. Wilkes has tried to build her self-confidence, but ..."

"Yet she seems so confident of herself most of the time!" Catherine was surprised.

"That's all part of her charm ..." Clarisse sighed. "I can't stand this. Come on. We have to go to her."

O o O o O o

When Robert woke up the next morning, it took him a few moments to figure out where he was. Remembering, he looked quickly for signs that Catherine had been in bed with him, but could see none. Her pillow was still undented. She had obviously opted for a different place to sleep. Yawning as he got up, and hoping she hadn't curled up on the bathroom floor or fallen asleep in the shower, Robert checked both places. No sign of her. Opening the bedroom door a crack, he peeked out. Everything looked quiet. Then he stared at the end of the sofa bed which he could see. What the hell? THREE bumps?

Carefully he crept a little closer, then grinned when he saw all three women sound asleep. Now he had a chance to study their faces, to see the minute differences between them. Clarisse and Catherine were incredibly alike. And Nan ... Nan's hair was longer which, strangely enough, made her look slightly older than the other two. She carried a little more weight than the others, but was not plump by any means. She wasn't as elegant, either, Robert grinned to himself as he saw her lying on her back with her mouth open, emitting faint snores, the neckline of her flannel nightgown up around her chin. Clarisse and Catherine were both on their left sides on either side of Nan, in almost identical positions ... the shadowy cleft between their breasts showing through the gape in the silvery material of their pyjamas ...

Robert rolled his eyes and resolutely turned away. What the hell did he think he was doing, ogling the women like this? Hearing a faint noise from the other bedroom, he looked over, then quietly made his way across the room to the door. Tapping lightly once with his fingers, he waited. In moments, the door opened and Joe was standing there, a puzzled expression on his face.

Before he could say a word, Robert put his finger to his lips, then jerked his hand in the direction of the sofa bed. Joe craned his head to see around his friend, then grinned. He pulled Robert into the room and closed the door. "I wondered where Clarisse had gone in the night, but guess I was too tired. I fell asleep right away and never thought of her again," he admitted in an undertone.

"I did the same thing to Catherine. I don't even remember her coming to bed."

Joe arched his eyebrows, then he grinned. "Ah! So you DIDN'T get rewarded last night after all!"

Robert glared at him. Without a word, he turned and left the room, not worrying about how much noise he was making. When he gained his own room, he almost slammed the door, but then just pushed it closed gently. No point in waking the women. They'd be up soon enough. Instead, he occupied himself in the bathroom, showering and shaving.

When he came out of the bathroom to dress, he came face to face with Catherine. Her eyes widened as they travelled down his bare chest, then back up to his. Then she smiled. "You wear a towel well. Have you some Scottish background in your ancestry?"

"Just Neanderthal," he said huskily, and wrapped his arms around her, his mouth seeking hers as he dragged her into his embrace.

Last night his kisses had been gentle, this morning they were anything but. In fact, it was almost a repetition of the previous morning in the cabin. Catherine wasn't protesting however, he noted in a dim, faraway corner of his brain. On the contrary, she was almost as fierce as he was. Still entangled together, he managed to guide them to the bed, and they fell onto it, still clinging hotly to one another. Then he broke their kiss with a groan. "Catherine?"

"Hmm?" Her fingers were busy unknotting his towel.

With a groan, his own hand came over hers, holding her still. "Catherine ... let's go back to the cabin. Just for today. We'll come back to New York tomorrow. But we should sort things out at home ... and between us ..."

She sighed and stopped her frantic movements. Resting her forehead on his, she closed her eyes and willed her heartbeat to slow down. Then she pulled away a fraction, and looked at him, a faint smile on her face. "I never thought I would hear you talk about our responsibilities over our desires."

He released her hands. "I never thought I would. But I do have an ulterior motive."

"Oh?" she asked breathlessly.

"Uh huh. At the cabin," he whispered in her ear, "we can be entirely alone ... in my bed ... OUR bed ... no questions ... no interruptions ... nothing but you ... and me ... and our love ..."

Abruptly pushing him away, Catherine jumped to her feet. Robert lay on his back on the bed. "What?" he asked.

"I'm packing." Her eyes lingered on him for a moment longingly, then she resolutely turned away. Looking back at him teasingly over her shoulder, she added in a sultry whisper, "The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll be at the cabin ..."

O o O o O o

Explanations were made and accepted, and Robert and Catherine promised to be back by noon the next day, saying they would meet the others at the hospital. Due to other complications, Catherine knew that Wilkes would be kept in the hospital probably three or four more days. Nan, although she claimed it was not necessary for them to drive all the way back just for HER, was almost pathetically grateful when they insisted. Joseph called a taxi for them to get them back to the hospital where Robert had left the Suburban, and they all went downstairs to see the two off. The hotel lobby was quiet, and in no time, Robert and Catherine were on their way home.

"I noticed you didn't leave them your cell phone number," Catherine smiled at Robert.

"Nor did you," he noted with a grin. "And I'll unplug the telephone at the cottage."

She chuckled delightfully. "You are naughty, sir, very naughty!"

"And don't you love it?" he leered, his hand covering hers.

"Both hands on the wheel, Robert," she said gently, moving his back to where it should be.

"Spoil sport," he grumbled.

"On the contrary. Safety conscious. I want to get there in one piece. There are a number of things I have in mind to do to you, and practising surgery isn't one of them."

"Playing doctor was actually one of the games I had in mind," Robert said.

"Robert?"

"Hmm?"

"If we don't talk about something else, I'm going to go up in flames here."

With a shout of laughter, Robert agreed. They began to talk about their work, and what would be necessary to make the trek back to New York City in the morning. Then they spoke about Robert's girls, and their possible reaction to news that their newly-widowed father was considering re-marriage.

"I'm not CONSIDERING it, I'm COUNTING on it!" Robert scowled.

"Robert ..." Catherine hesitated a moment, then continued, "I've known a number of people with grown children who have chosen NOT to formalize their new relationship with marriage, or even co-habitation, out of consideration for their children. Even though Jaclyn and Lori hopefully will be happy for your new-found love, they might still find it hard to see you forging new bonds with me and, well, disrupting their memories of their mother."

"So? What are you saying? We just go our separate ways?"

"No. And, not knowing your daughters, I may have it all wrong. I'm saying perhaps we should consider just ... enjoying our relationship but still keep our independence."

"Are you saying what I THINK you're saying?" Robert stared at her.

"Watch the road, Robert." Catherine's face was bright red.

"You're saying we should just ... keep getting together whenever we can to relieve our sexual desires, but have nothing else to do with each other?"

"I didn't say that! That sounds so ... so ..." Catherine searched for the right word.

"Terrible. Bad. Wrong." Robert supplied the words with a growl. "In this case, I will not sacrifice my happiness so my girls won't be upset, even assuming they WILL be upset, which I frankly can't see. Or are you really thinking of yourself and your friends? Maybe you're ashamed of me? You think I can't live up to your standards because I say hyperthermia and boast of being a rehabilitated car thief? Is that it, Catherine?"

"How could you say such a thing?" Catherine cried, aghast. "NO, that's not it!"

"I'm not a high-faluting doctor like ... like WILLIAM ... and probably even Tom!" Robert was furious. "And I am not in the market for a ... a ... a mistr ..."

"Don't say it, Robert," Catherine interrupted him, warningly, "or I will never forgive you!" There was silence in the car for a few seconds, then Catherine added almost sulkily, "Besides, Tom wasn't a doctor. He was a garbage collector."

"A WHAT?"

She giggled. Robert stared at her again. Suddenly the two of them erupted into laughter.

"I'm sorry, Catherine," Robert said at last. "I ... I don't know what ..."

"I think it's nerves," Catherine said. "I'm sorry, too. Nerves. That's what I'm putting my words down to, this morning."

"Nerves?"

"Have you a better word?"

"Terror," he said promptly. "What if, after all this frustration and waiting and build up, what if I can't, er, perform? What if our lovemaking just fizzles and dies?"

"Oh, God, Robert ... how did you know what I was thinking? What if you find me ... lacking in ability? What if ...?"

"Ah, hell," Robert groaned.

He pulled into the rest area they just happened to be passing. Parking away from other vehicles, at one end of the lot, he unfastened his seatbelt as Catherine unfastened hers. They met, awkwardly positioned, over the consol. In short order, the windows were well-steamed.

Swearing under his breath at the hip jammed under the steering wheel, Robert finally released Catherine. They both sat back, trying to catch their breath and slow their heart beat down. Then they turned to each other and together said, "We don't have a problem!"

"Let's go," Robert put the vehicle into gear, and roared off.

O o O o O o To Be Continued


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

"Willy?"

He heard Nan's tremulous whisper and, with great effort, opened his eyes. "Nan ..."

Her face lit up, and suddenly the redness he saw around her eyes, evidence of her crying, didn't matter any more. The shining of the blue quite overcame it. "Oh, Willy," she said softly, rubbing her cheek on his hand, even as she traced his lips with her finger. "You're going to be feeling better soon, for sure, sure, sure."

"Yes, perhaps I will ..."

Her smile was radiant. "You will. Catherine told me. She knows. She's a doctor."

"Cath ...?"

"Never mind. You'll meet her tomorrow. Clarisse is here, and Joseph."

Clarisse and Joseph? So he hadn't imagined hearing Clarisse's voice! His eyes grew heavy again, but he tried to keep them open, feasting his eyes on his beloved Nan.

Nan stroked his forehead and crooned, "It's all right, Willy. They're staying with me for a while ... go back to sleep, love ..."

With a sigh, Willy slid back to sleep.

O o O o O o

"Oh, my LORD, Clarisse! Why didn't you tell me right away?" Nan stared at her friend in horror. They had just come back to the Plaza after spending the day at the hospital, and Clarisse had decided it was perhaps better to inform the other woman that Robert and Catherine were not married.

"I was hoping it would give them the push they needed, and that they would decide to get married," confessed Clarisse. "But then, we both ended up sleeping out here with you, so it didn't work!"

Joseph grinned widely. "Six months as my wife, and she figures EVERYONE should be married! Has she told you about Charlotte and Shades yet?"

Nan smiled, but her eyes remained concerned. "Oh, Joey, I KNOW about Charlotte and Shades ... or about how each one thinks of the other. But neither one is ready or willing to take the next step."

"Well, Robert and Catherine are the same. I mean, it's OBVIOUS they love each other. But they just met a month ago, by accident, and Robert was still married. His wife d ..." Clarisse broke off. This was probably NOT the story to be telling Nan, with her husband still in the intensive care unit of the hospital!

"Oh, my stars, stars, stars, Clarisse! I think Joey is right! You DO seem to want to get couples together! It might take a while with these two, though. I know Catherine's husband had prostate cancer," Nan said quietly. "He died last year, just before Thanksgiving. She told me she wondered at the time how she would ever live without him. Then she met Robert. He's very, very different from her Tom. And poor Robert recently lost his wife, too."

Clarisse stared at Nan. "When did she tell you all that?"

Nan's smile reached her eyes this time. "Last night. You had already fallen asleep."

Just then, the doorbell started ringing ... nonstop. Nan closed her eyes for a moment, as if to gather strength, then got to her feet. "Eloise," she said, as she headed for the door. "Poor pet, she's worried about Willy, too."

Joseph and Clarisse looked at each other, then away. Neither one had seen the side of Eloise that Nan knew and loved so well.

"Nanny!" Eloise cried when Nan opened the door. She threw her arms around Nan's waist exuberantly and beamed up at her. "Is Sir Wilkes better? Is he coming home tomorrow?"

"No, not tomorrow, love," Nan said, hugging the child. "But he DID open his eyes, and talk to me a bit. And the doctors put something into his shoulder that will help keep his heart beating. So he's getting better, for sure, sure, sure!"

"I'm glad, because we're going away tomorrow until January the seventh, which is when I have to start school again," here Eloise made a face, "but I wanted to know before we went. I love you, Nanny!"

"I love you, too, pet," Nan said.

"And I love that the newspaper STILL thinks you're Queen Clarisse and that I'm a princess," Eloise grinned as she turned to leave.

"Wh ... Wh ...? ELOISE?" Nan tried to call her back, but Eloise had skipped down the hall. Nan turned to look at Joseph, who had a guilty look on his face. "Joey? What did she mean?"

"Uhhhh ..." Joseph tried to think of what he could say.

"Joey? Did you see a newspaper article today?" Nan asked. "Do you HAVE the paper?" She held out her hand and waited.

Sheepishly Joseph rummaged in his leather jacket inner pocket, and pulled out a crumpled paper. "I just saved the page," he said.

Nan snatched it from him and then searched for her glasses. Putting them on, she tried to focus on the article, but her attention was drawn to the large picture of herself, looking anxious and concerned, walking beside the stretcher as they were taking Willy into the hospital. Eloise was at her side. Nan hadn't even been aware of any reporters yesterday, being consumed with her anxiety for her husband. In fact, Eloise's new nanny had arrived shortly thereafter, having been notified by Mr. Salomone at the Plaza, and had taken Eloise home again. Then Nan saw the headlines, saw her OWN picture and read the short article:

Struck Down By Queen Clarisse

The former queen of Genovia is seen here, accompanying

the new man in her life to the hospital. When questioned,

doctors reported that strenuous activity was the most

probable cause of their important patient's heart

problems. The mystery child, the probable princess,

said only that her great grandmother, whom she

affectionately calls 'Nanny', had been decorating in

preparation for her arrival, and that Nanny's methods

of decorating were highly unusual and 'absolutely

exhausting' for any helpers. Judging by the concern

and love on Queen Clarisse's face in this picture,

one can only wonder about the strenuous activity

which felled this seemingly robust man. A few hours

later, more mystery was added to the story when the

former queen's husband of six months arrived with

a small group. He and the former queen were

sequestered in the private waiting room for an hour

or two. Will New York City society ever

hear the real story behind all of this royal excitement?

And what Genovia thinks of all this intrigue remains

to be seen.

"Oh, my Lord!" Nan's mouth was open in shock. "Oh, my LORD!"

At that precise moment, the telephone rang. Joseph picked it up. "Hello? Ah! Mia! I was wondering when we would hear from you again. ... yes, we've seen the newspapers. Yes, it's Wilkes. They put in a pacemaker today, and are making sure it will regulate the heart. By tomorrow he should be in somewhat better shape and taken out of ICU, but they are saying they will probably keep him in the hospital a few days after that yet. Your grandmother is here with me, of course. My friend Robert drove us up from his place. Yes, we're staying here with Nan. Yes, we are doing just fine. Yes, our marriage is fine, too. Thank you for asking." He rolled his eyes, and Clarisse and Nan both chuckled. "We love you, too, Mia. And no, Eloise is NOT our great-grand-daughter, NOR is she Nan's. No, of course we aren't going to set the newspapers straight! Why would we do such a foolish thing as that? Damage control? Mia, you are beginning to sound alarmingly like your grandmother," he teased. "Goodbye, Mia! Worry about your country, not us, all right? What's that? You saw WHO kissing under the mistletoe last night?"

Clarisse lunged for the telephone. "Mia? Mia! Was Charlotte really kissing ... Mia?" She looked blankly at the telephone. "She hung up on me!"

Joseph laughed heartily. At last, between gasps, he admitted that Mia had gone after he had said goodbye, and that he had just made up the bit about the mistletoe.

Narrowing her eyes, Clarisse glared at him. "Just for that, Joseph, you can sleep by yourself tonight again. I'll stay with Nan!"

"Oh, but I ..." Nan began. When Clarisse glared at her as well, Nan lifted her hands in surrender and said meekly, "I would love to have you with me, Clarisse, for sure, sure, sure!"

O o O o O o

"I can't believe you actually managed to get us here without putting us in the ditch again!" Catherine laughed as they got out of the Suburban at the cabin.

"Third time's the charm going past that place, obviously," grinned Robert.

Catherine waited beside him until he had unlocked the door, then he gestured for her to go in first. "I'm not used to you just using the key. I expect you to break in every time now," she murmured. What was wrong with her, suddenly? She had known, from the moment they left New York, where they were headed and what was going to happen! And she WANTED it to happen ... but ... but ...

As if aware of her tension, or reacting to his own, Robert casually tossed his coat over the back of the couch. "I'm going to phone Jaclyn and see how Lori is, and whether or not she's home."

"I should phone the hospital, too," Catherine said. "But I'll use my cell."

"Good choice. That way they can't track you down." Robert chuckled. "I'll turn up the furnace in here, and go start a fire in the bedroom."

Gulping at the implication that they would be sharing the bedroom, and furious with herself for hesitating yet again, Catherine got out her cell phone. Because the day was bright and clear, she was able to pick up enough signal to make her call. She spoke to the answering service and found that there were no scheduled events for the next week and a half, and no pending deliveries. Then she asked to speak to William.

"Catherine! Where ARE you? Marina has been worried sick since you didn't show up yesterday!" He came on the line, blustering.

"I'm fine, William. I TOLD Marina I wouldn't be coming over a few days ago. Thank her for worrying about me, but tell her to put it to good use on someone else ... like you! Listen, William, I've been asked to go to New York with ..."

"You're actually planning to LEAVE TOWN? Catherine, it's CHRISTMAS! A time for family! As your closest friends, Marina and I claim the name of your family, since you have no one of your own. Why New York? It's not a conference, is it? You're not thinking about WORKING, are you? You haven't had time off since Tom died!"

"William, please. I DO take time off. In fact, that's precisely what I am trying to do now!" Catherine tried to keep her temper. She kept reminding herself that Tom and William had been best friends.

"Catherine, I don't like it. I feel responsible for you. What is happening to you? You've been different since Thanksgiving! You don't tell us anything any more! Who asked you to go to New York?"

"The Queen of Genovia," Catherine announced, tired of it all.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me, William. Whether or not you believe me is another matter. I just called to let you know that I will be in New York City for about a week ... I'm not sure if I'll be gone longer than that or not, but I will let the hospital know, of course. If anyone asks, tell them I'm gone by royal command, that Queen Clarisse of Genovia has requested my presence."

"Catherine ..." William paused, then said, "I saw the newspaper today."

"Newspaper?"

"Saying that the Queen of Genovia is in New York City ... and that her boyfriend is in the hospital ... and her husband is seeing another woman. Just how are you involved in all of that? You're not the other woman, are you, Catherine? Catherine!"

Catherine was speechless. After William had called her name a few more times, she finally said, "I don't know where that paper got its information, but it's quite wrong. Queen Clarisse and Sir Joseph are quite happy together ..." A sudden vision of the state of undress of those two yesterday morning presented itself to Catherine's inner eye, and she grinned. Suddenly her apprehensions concerning Robert and herself were gone. "William? It doesn't matter. I'm going to New York City. And I may or may not come back. But I will let you know. Good bye."

"Cath ...!" but Catherine had hung up the telephone.

"Robert? Robert, where are you?" She looked around. He had obviously finished using the telephone, because the room was empty. "Robert?" she called, going into the new part.

"Boo!" he said from the doorway of his bedroom. Then he grinned. "I've got the fire going in here. Come on in. You're finished?"

"Almost irrevocably," Catherine said enigmatically. "How is your family?"

"Fine ... just fine. I spoke to Michael and told him I'd take him for pancakes to Murray's next week when I got back. He said the baby sleeps a lot, and wants to know if you want her back yet."

Catherine smiled. "He's sweet. You have a wonderful family, Robert."

"One I'd like to share with you. Nothing to be shy or hesitant about. They'll love you, as I do. Catherine ...?" His voice trailed away, and they stared at each other for a long moment.

Then Catherine smiled slowly and seductively. She stood there before him by the fire and slowly undressed, letting her clothes slide down to crumple unheeded on the floor. Robert gaped at her perfect, breathtaking nakedness, then quickly looked up to her face before he disgraced himself as he had not done since he was a teenager.

"You need to know," Catherine said, her eyes brilliant in the firelight, "in case you haven't already gathered it, that generally I am not at all shy."

Robert opened his mouth and absolutely nothing came out.

"Or hesitant," she said, stepping closer to unfasten the buttons on his shirt, and push it off him. Next her hands went to the fastenings on his trousers.

"Cath –" he croaked, and grabbed at her hands.

"No, Robert. This is MY turn." She slipped free, then continued to unfasten the button and slide down the zipper. "And," she said, "I intend to make it count. Remember that, Robert."

Remember? His temples were throbbing and he wasn't sure he could even see. Somehow he was sitting on the edge of the bed, the red glow of the fire revealing her body as she knelt before him.

"Are you shocked, Robert?" she breathed, a trifle unsteadily. "This is who I am." She inwardly wondered that SHE was not shocked at herself. Imagine ... all this time, and she had never REALLY known herself! But oh, to see his face and to feel ... she felt more alive than she had for a long, long time.

In no more than a rasp of a voice, Robert muttered, "I'd have to THINK to be shocked!"

Catherine smiled, captured his head and kissed him deeply. Then she drew back. "You HAVE to think, Robert. This is who I am. A lusty woman. A demanding woman. A woman who intends to enjoy you and who knows how to pleasure you."

Robert groaned as the force of her words spread over his body. "Are you SURE, Catherine?"

"Are you MAD, Robert?" she retorted brazenly.

Just before he lost himself in her love, Robert thought, Catherine. His. Even more wonderful than he could ever have imagined. She smiled back at him, her lips parted, her eyes shining and mirroring her obvious ecstasy. Then neither one was capable of talking, much less thinking, for a long, long time. At last, Robert stirred.

"Shhh," Catherine soothed him, a hand stroking his face, and he realized that he was weeping.

"Oh my God ..." he muttered. He had thought he had made peace with his memories of MaryBeth. He had thought it was NOT too soon! How could he have been so wrong?

"Don't you DARE be embarrassed, Robert! I'm crying, too!"

He touched her cheek and found it wet. He licked a delicious, salty tear.

"It has been a long time for me," she whispered. "My tears are for joy. I know it hasn't been nearly as long for you. Are yours for sorrow?"

He considered the question. Was he crying for what he had had with MaryBeth? Were his tears for sorrow? Then assurance flooded him. No. No, they were not tears of sorrow. He HAD made his peace with MaryBeth's illness and death. Here in his arms lay proof that, in the real world, life goes on. He smiled and met her eyes. "No, but I always thought a man should cry when he experiences a miracle. And you are my miracle, Catherine. My Christmas miracle. You gave our family one miracle with little MaryBeth ... and you are giving me another, even greater one."

"God, Robert, why do you always have to make me CRY?" she demanded. "I don't usually ..."

He had to move, had to DO something. "Shall we adjourn to the hot tub?"

"All right!" she smiled. The next moment she squealed as he swept her off the bed and into his arms. "Robert! Robert, put me down! I can walk!"

"We both know that is true," and he gave her a quick kiss, "But I like picking you up. Get the door, will you?"

She reached over and turned the knob, letting in the frigid air. He stepped out and Catherine pulled it shut. Both were shivering almost uncontrollably. "ROBERT! Get in the water!" She struggled to get down. "We're going to freeze to death out here!"

Then they were enveloped in the warmth of the water and in the heat of each other's arms.

O o O o O o


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

When Robert and Catherine got back to New York City early the next afternoon, they went directly to the hospital and found Nan, Joseph and Clarisse sitting in Wilkes' room and visiting. Wilkes had been moved out of intensive care and was in a private room now, so having more visitors than regulations stipulated was generally overlooked. Catherine was anxious to meet Wilkes ... SIR Wilkes ... as she had heard a great deal about him from Nan and Clarisse the night they had spent talking for hours before finally falling asleep. She had told Robert a few basic facts, such as Nan having admired Sir Wilkes for months before ever having the nerve to speak to him, and the fact that their first 'date' had been a disastrous tea manipulated by Eloise. The ball that evening, however, had made up for any discomfort in the afternoon, and Nan had recalled dancing with her Willy with stars in her eyes.

Wilkes was sleeping when the two arrived, but Nan, seeing them in the doorway, hurried out to speak to them in the hallway. Her face was red with embarrassment when she stammered that Clarisse had just informed her last night that perhaps she had been a little hasty in putting them in the same bedroom. "I am so, so, so sorry! I cannot apologize enough!"

"Nan, don't worry about it," Catherine said. "You know I was on the couch with you and Clarisse anyway!"

"But ... but you must think me an old fool not to have known you weren't married, for Lord's sake!" Nan almost wailed.

Robert chuckled. "Nonsense! To be quite truthful ..." he began, then interrupted himself, "and as an ex con, marine, pessimist, old grouch and curmudgeon, I ALWAYS tell the truth. I have a bet with Catherine that I will never lie to her again. Did I mention I'm also a tightwad? I want to keep that hundred dollars. SO, to be truthful ... we both wanted to share the room, but we weren't about to admit it, even to ourselves! Why, Nan, do you know, Catherine STILL hasn't even said that she will MARRY me! Can you believe it? She can't decide whether or not she WANTS to marry me! ME! Aren't I a prize, Nan? You can tell the truth!"

Nan had to laugh at Robert, although she was still embarrassed that she had put them in the same room just ASSUMING they were married! "Come in, we'll get extra chairs. I want Willy to meet you."

"How is he doing?" Catherine asked. "I suppose he's still in quite a bit of pain from the shoulder where they put the pacemaker."

"Aoww, for sure, sure, sure," Nan nodded. "But they think it is working. He's being monitored for the next few days."

"Good."

When they entered the room, Wilkes opened his eyes. Not seeing Joseph and Clarisse on the one side of the bed, he smiled at his wife, then his eyes moved to Catherine, then to Robert, then back to Catherine. A look of puzzlement came over his face. "Cl ... Clarisse? You don't look ... you look ..."

Catherine smiled and stepped right up to his bed, taking his hand in hers gently. "Hello, Sir Wilkes. My name is Catherine Howard."

"Remember I told you about Catherine, Willy?" Nan asked, stroking his cheek lovingly. "The doctor?"

"But she ... you look like my wife ... my friend ..." Wilkes began.

Clarisse leaned forward from where she was sitting, and put her hand over Wilkes' as well. "She does, doesn't she? All three of us look very much alike!"

Wilkes' eyes widened as they moved from one face to another. Finally he murmured, "Oh, yes, yes, immensely!" He looked over to Joseph. "How do you tell the difference?"

Joseph grinned. "Actually, it's easier than you think, once you get used to it. Isn't it, Robert? Oh, Wilkes, this is a great friend of mine from many years ago ... Robert Woodward."

Just as Robert stepped forward, a nurse came rushing in. She stopped, flabbergasted at the sight of five visitors. "No WONDER his monitor is going crazy!" she grumbled, and went over to the bed and began to check the connections.

"Oh, did seeing two other women who look like your wife cause problems?" Joseph teased Wilkes, who smiled weakly.

"Only two visitors per patient!" the nurse said, fixing a stern gaze on the five. Then her stare intensified as her eyes went from Nan to Clarisse and finally rested on Catherine. Suddenly she smiled. "You're that queen, aren't you? Queen something-or-other from somewhere in Europe! Not a very good likeness in the paper, was it? And you left your husband for Sir Wilkes?"

Catherine cleared her throat. "Actually," she said, "I am Dr. Howard, a cardiologist from Connecticut."

"Oh! Oh, my! A visiting specialist! We weren't informed! I must go tell my supervisor!" and the now-terrified nurse fled the room.

"Perhaps we should go," Robert said. He never felt comfortable in hospitals, anyway.

"Wilkes?" Clarisse bent over her friend in the bed. He had closed his eyes, but now dragged them open again. "We're going to go out for the afternoon, but we'll be back later, all right? We're going to take Nan with us."

"Good," he murmured. "Thank you." Wincing as he moved, he caught Nan's hand in his and brought it to his lips. "I love you, Nan."

"Oh, Willy," Nan blushed, but gently kissed him on the lips. "Sleep again. Get better soon, soon, soon!"

Once in the hallway, Catherine said, "Where are we going?"

"Back to the Plaza," Clarisse announced. "I am going to make an appointment with Vincent."

"Vincent?" Nan looked puzzled. "You need your hair done?"

"No, I don't. But YOU are going to have YOURS done, Nan!"

Nan's hands flew to her head. "Oh, my, but I ..."

Clarisse linked her arm in Nan's. "We're going to treat you to a makeover, Nan! Are you coming, Catherine?"

"Count me in," Catherine grinned, and linked her arm in Nan's other arm. "This sounds like it will be fun!"

"Fun ... sure, sure, sure," Nan said, mournfully.

"Cheer up!" Clarisse said. "We'll go shopping for dresses, too. We'll need them for the New Year's Eve Ball at the Plaza."

"We don't even have an invitation!" Nan protested.

"Oh, tush!" Clarisse waved her hand. "I'm a queen! Or Catherine is the queen! Or you are." She laughed. "We'll get invitations out of Mr. Salomone, just you wait and see!"

"Robert?" Joseph looked at his friend. "What do you say about a few hours in the Oak Room bar at the Plaza?"

"I think it's a necessity," Robert said, still looked a little dazed.

O o O o O o

When Clarisse inquired at the Plaza desk as to an appointment with Vincent, the hairdresser, Miss Thompson was simply delighted to do that for such a distinguished guest. "I assume you want an appointment for all three of you?" she gushed. "And may I say that of COURSE you will all be receiving invitations to the New Year's Eve Gala? It's just so exciting to have ROYALTY here in attendance at OUR hotel!"

"Was she looking at you this time, or me as royalty?" Catherine muttered to the other two as they walked away, after explaining they only wanted ONE appointment with Vincent, for Lady Nan.

"I think she was looking at Nan," Clarisse chuckled.

"Aoww, you two! You ... you make me feel so ... so YOUNG!" Nan sounded incredulous.

"You ARE young, Nan!" Catherine said, gayly. "Why, I'm going to be seventy next October!"

Nan stopped in her tracks, as did Clarisse. Catherine looked at them in surprise. "What?"

"When in October?" asked Clarisse, looking tense.

"The ... the first. Why?" Catherine was suddenly uneasy.

"Aoww, my stars, stars, stars!" whispered Nan. "We ALL have the very same birthday!" The three stood staring at each other, wondering why it was so strange, but knowing that it WAS because they looked so much alike. "You two ... you could really be twins ..."

"Well," Clarisse recovered first, and took Nan's arm again. "We are about to become triplets!"

O o O o O o

"Sometimes, no matter how much we want to help, it's just not possible," Nan hung back nervously when the three women arrived at Vincent's salon.

"I DO hope you're not trying to say that you're a lost cause," Clarisse said, giving her arm a little tug.

"Or that we are really annoying you instead of helping you," Catherine added, tugging on Nan's other arm.

"Aoww, no, no, no!" Nan looked so upset at that thought that the other two took pity on her.

"Nan, if you REALLY don't want this, we'll turn around and go away and not say another word about a makeover," Catherine said.

"Yes, I made the mistake with Mia of assuming she wanted to be transformed just as much as I wanted it, and Joseph was the one to inform me that perhaps I had not gone about it in the right way. Catherine and I just thought that, to celebrate Wilkes' recovery and homecoming, you might want to surprise him and change your hair style."

"He fell in love with me even though I don't look glamorous," Nan muttered. "But perhaps I'm over-reacting."

"Nan, you are dear and sweet and I love you very, very much," Clarisse stared straight at her, "but you have no self-confidence when it comes to your looks, and I think a simple haircut will change that!"

"It's not that we're trying to make you look EXTRA glamorous, for God's sake," Catherine chimed in. "Why, Robert might decide he doesn't REALLY love me, and try to steal you away from Sir Wilkes! We just thought you would want to look your very best at this special time in your life!"

Nan smiled reluctantly. "Aoww, knickers," she muttered. "Very well. I don't mean to be ungracious ... But Eloise says Vincent has trouble understanding the word, 'STOP! That's short enough!'"

"Come on. We'll put you in Vincent's hands and see what happens. Just be thankful Paolo's on the other side of the world." Clarisse said.

"Paolo?" both Nan and Catherine looked at her in surprise.

"Never mind," and Clarisse wiped the back of her hand on her hip just at the memory of the wet kisses Paolo was so fond of bestowing.

"Well, let's move, move, move!" As Nan marched in to meet with Vincent, she began to hum. Catherine and Clarisse looked at each other in puzzlement. Seeing their confusion, Nan broke off and chuckled. "Sorry," she whispered. "It's just what Eloise and I used to sing every morning. Our morning 'duties'. That's what this feels like. Something that just HAS to be done! You two are coming, aren't you? I might need some moral support!"

"You'll be fine, Nan!" Catherine smiled.

"Just fine," echoed Clarisse.

As Vincent greeted Nan effusively and led her to a chair, Nan looked back wistfully. 'You'll be fine, fine, fine,' she thought to herself, 'but will you still be the Nan that Willy said he fell in love with? Or will you be a pale copy of Queen Clarisse and Doctor Catherine? But they MEAN well. Their hearts are in the right place.'

O o O o O o

"Maybe we shouldn't have done this?" Clarisse asked Catherine as they watched Nan sit in the chair, nervously eying Vincent's scissors.

"She'll look better," Catherine said, trying to speak convincingly.

"Much better!"

"Younger."

"DEFINITELY younger. We do. And her face is so much like ours ..."

"But will she be happier?" Catherine finally said the words both were thinking. "It wasn't her idea. It was OURS!"

"WAIT!" Clarisse grabbed Catherine's hand and dragged her into the salon. Vincent turned around in surprise, his hand holding up a lock of Nan's hair, scissors at the ready.

"I'm sorry, Vincent, but we need to speak with Lady Nan for a few moments. Could we maybe reschedule her appointment? We'll be in touch!" Clarisse spoke rapidly.

"Of course, of course!" Vincent said, his eyes revealing his belief that all three women, who looked so very much alike, were completely crazy.

O o O o O o

"NOW where are we going? And what do you need to speak to me about?" Nan submitted to being pulled along by the other two as they rapidly crossed the lobby on the way to the elevator.

"We're going for a drink. But we'll be genteel and have it in the room, since Robert and Joseph are probably in the bar down here. We need to be alone for this talk!" Clarisse said.

"Aoww, my sainted Aunt Fanny," murmured Nan, but she had perked up a bit at the thought of a drink.

Once in the room, Nan called room service. Catherine and Clarisse had both said they would have whatever she drank, so Nan ordered six bottles of beer. Pilsener. She needed her comfort drink, for sure, sure, sure! Bill brought the order up right away, smiling as he handed the tray to Nan. "Enjoy!" he called as he went down the hall.

"Now, then," Nan put the tray on the coffee table, and carefully poured three glasses, handing one to Catherine and one to Clarisse.

Clarisse eyed the foaming drink a little dubiously. She had never tried beer. "Er, how do you drink it without getting a mouthful of foam?"

"I usually drink mine right out of the bottle," Catherine grinned.

"Oh, my stars, stars, stars! I MUST apologize, Catherine!" Nan exclaimed. "I should have asked!"

"No, really, this is fine!" Catherine lifted her glass. "A toast. To us!"

"And our men!" Clarisse added, raising her glass.

"May we always be healthy and happy in our love," Nan chimed in, and they clinked the glasses together, then put them to their lips.

Clarisse choked on her mouthful, and had to put her glass down while she coughed. "You ... you DRINK that? And enjoy it?" she sputtered.

"It takes some getting used to," Catherine said.

"Like champagne," added Nan, smiling as she remembered her first experience drinking champagne, when celebrating her engagement to Wilkes.

"Try another sip," advised Catherine.

Grimacing when the glass got near her lips, Clarisse put it down again. "I don't even like the SMELL of it!"

"This is the REAL world, Clarisse," Catherine said, taking a couple more swallows. "where we drink what is in front of us simply to be polite."

"AND we don't comment on the taste!" Nan added, feeling very daring. "Not after having said we would drink whatever everyone else was having!"

"All right, all right," Clarisse took a deep breath and tried a small sip. She shuddered, but didn't say a word. The next time she raised her glass, however, she pinched her nose closed with one hand.

Catherine and Nan burst into laughter. "Oh, my Lord, Clarisse!" Nan sputtered. "If it's THAT bad to smell, drink it straight from the bottle! You don't smell it nearly as much then!"

Raising her eyebrows as if she questioned that comment, Clarisse picked up a bottle, and brought it to her lips. She sipped cautiously, then smiled. "You're right. Thank you!"

"NOW," Nan said, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Nan, how about we start with ... your relationship to Wilkes?" Clarisse asked, leaning back in her chair, the bottle of beer in one hand. Nan looked surprised, then a little wary. She waited for Clarisse to continue. "What do you think Wilkes loves about you?" Clarisse asked, slowly twirling the bottle in her fingers.

"Why, he ... I suppose it's ... he SAYS it's ..." Nan stopped. "I can't say. It sounds much, much, much too much like bragging!"

"Well, Joseph says he loves me because I show strength in adversity, because I am conscientious, because I ..." Clarisse began, then she coloured and stopped. "You're right. It DOES sound like bragging. My point is that Joseph does NOT simply love me for my looks, NOR does he love me for my upbringing. That's not what Wilkes loves about you either, is it?"

"Naow, not at all!" Nan shook her head, half-laughing at the thought.

"And you can't SERIOUSLY believe that Wilkes EVER harboured romantic thoughts for ME, right?" Clarisse leaned in and looked Nan in the eye.

Nan gulped.

"Oh, Nan!" Clarisse shook her head in exasperation. "Yes, I admit I fell for Wilkes in a big way the first time we met."

"You DID?" Catherine stared at her, then realized how that sounded. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry!"

They all laughed and drank some more. Then Clarisse said, "Yes, I certainly did. Did he ever tell you the story, Nan?"

Nan grinned. "Aoww, he did, Clarisse, for sure, sure, sure. Something about you being around eight, I believe, and the fall was from a tree?"

"Into a muddy stream," laughed Clarisse. "I was FURIOUS when he laughed!"

"Oh, Clarisse!" Catherine was in stitches at the thought.

"But no, I honestly don't think Wilkes EVER was in love with me. And he was always just a dear friend as far as I was concerned. But what about you, Nan? You were in love with Joseph, weren't you?" Clarisse asked quietly, studying her beer intently before tipping up the bottle once more.

Catherine raised her eyebrows and looked at Nan who flushed and said, "Aoww, I suppose you could say that. I thought I was in love with him, for about a month when I was a teenager and in need of someone to look after me. Joey did that. He was the first person to ever see me as a person, and to think I was something special. But that only lasted part of a summer, and then I didn't see him for over forty years. Yes, I still love Joey, but I'm not IN love with him ... and now that I've experienced real love with Willy, I know I never really WAS in love with Joey. Puppy love, maybe, but not LOVE love. Real love is much more than affection, much, much, much."

"I know that," agreed Clarisse. She had finally finished her first bottle of beer, and Nan now handed her the second. Clarisse accepted it dubiously, but the other two were well into their second glass, so she shrugged and began to drink it.

Then they turned to Catherine. She told about her late husband, Tom , being fifteen years older than her, and so very good to her.

"And now you have Robert to love," Clarisse said in satisfaction.

Nan chuckled. "Joey is right, Clarisse. You HAVE turned into a matchmaker, for sure, sure, sure!" Then she hiccupped. "Oh, excuse me!"

"Robert?" prompted Clarisse when Catherine remained silent.

"He's very special," Catherine admitted. Her voice was soft as she described the one special night when they had met.

"And now?" Nan asked.

"Now ... now he wants me to marry him." Catherine drained her second glass of beer defiantly, then hiccupped. "ExCUSE me!"

"And?" Clarisse leaned forward eagerly. "Are you going to?"

"I want to," Catherine admitted, "but ... I have responsibilities and ..."

Clarisse shook her head vigorously. "I thought I had to deny myself a new love because of duty to Genovia ... I had been brought up to believe that. If I had continued doing that, I would never have known real love! Rupert and I were fond of each other – he was my best friend for so many years. After he died, I was ... bereft. But I had a duty to my country, and responsibilities to the people of Genovia. Then Joseph became my best friend ... and I grew to love him so much that when given a push by my grand-daughter, I swallowed my pride and threw away my responsibilities and duties and did something for myself for once. And I've never regretted it. I asked him to marry me, you know."

"And I asked Willy," Nan confessed. "Clarisse told me he'd probably never do it, so I would have to!"

"Then we BOTH told Charlotte to ask Shades, at Nan and Willy's wedding last summer!" Clarisse grinned.

"Charlotte?" Catherine was confused.

"She was my personal assistant after Rupert died. She's wonderful. The daughter I never had. Shades is now the Head of Security for the Royal family in Genovia. He took over for Joseph after our wedding." Clarisse explained.

"I rawther think," Nan said, putting down her empty glass, "I think you will have to accept Robert's pro ... proposal, Catherine."

"Me, too," Clarisse raised her bottle of beer. "To Robert and Catherine!" Then she drained it, hiccupped, put the bottle back on the table and said a trifle unsteadily, "Oh my. Excuse me! Nan, I think we need to do some dancing. I'm feeling ... a little light-headed."

Nan nodded, and got up. "This is how Eloise and I decorate the Christmas tree. But you have to sing as well as dance!" she warned them.

Catherine watched, incredulous, as Nan pulled some of the tinsel off the tree and handed a long strip to Clarisse, one to Catherine and kept one for herself. Then she put on the song 'Jingle Bell Rock', and began her dance, much as she had taught Charlotte the previous spring. Clarisse laughed and got up to dance with her. It took a few moments longer before Catherine shed her inhibitions and joined the other two. The song repeated over and over, and soon all three were singing at the tops of their lungs, waving their tinsel and dancing crazily around the room.

It was in the middle of their merriment that Robert and Joseph walked in the door, and stopped dead. They looked at the women who had stilled the moment they caught sight of the men, then they looked at each other. Nan quickly crossed to the CD player and pushed the button to shut it off. In the sudden and deafening silence, the telephone rang.

Nan cleared her throat, then answered it. "Hello?"

The others saw the colour drain from her face. Catherine and Clarisse both sprang to her side and caught her as she swayed. Nan swallowed, then said huskily into the phone, "We'll be right there."

She hung up and looked at the others. "It's ... Willy. He's not doing ... very well. They ... they said to come. J-Joey?"

Joseph stepped up and hugged her. She felt the strength of his love and friendship flowing into her, as well as Clarisse's and Catherine's silent support, and was aware of Robert's deep empathy as he stood close. "We're all with you, Nan. Let's go."

O o O o O o


	10. Chapter 10

Part 10

"Catherine, please tell me this sort of thing doesn't happen often in YOUR hospital!" Nan said wearily as they all arrived back at the suite in the Plaza. "How could that nurse have done that to me? Why, I might have had a heart attack, for Lord's sake!"

"At least Wilkes' doctor was there to reassure you that this was a normal reaction some people have to certain medications, Nan. It just happens that Wilkes can't tolerate that one. That's why they were keeping him in the hospital while they tried the various medications to see which one works the best for him," Catherine said, "but yes, that nurse should be shot!"

"I am quite relieved that Wilkes will be better by tomorrow," Clarisse said, touching Nan's shoulder comfortingly. "He was already breathing easier by the time we left."

"Imagine that damn nurse saying you will have to keep stimulants away from him!" Robert snorted. Then he grinned and said slyly, "Does that mean YOU will have to stay away from him, Nan? You're probably fairly stimulating."

"Robert!" Catherine admonished him, even as Joseph began to laugh.

"Oh, my stars, stars, stars!" Nan's eyes grew wide. "I must say, I never thought of that!"

"Robert was just teasing," Catherine said quickly, and poked him in the side with her elbow, glaring at him.

"But ... but what if this whole problem started ... because of what I did?" Nan asked worriedly.

"Nan, please," Clarisse frowned at Robert, too, then tried to reassure Nan. "From what I understand, Wilkes has had symptoms for quite a while now. And you said he had a couple of cups of coffee Christmas morning for breakfast. The doctor said that caffeine is the major stimulant to watch out for, because it can start the heart racing ..."

"It can also set off a different electrical impulse in the heart which interferes with the pumping action, and the circulation slows down," Catherine added. "It's all a chemical reaction, not a reaction to anything YOU did!"

"But today ... the nurse said Willy's heart took off again when we were all in the room," Nan twisted her hands together in her agitation. "What if it was seeing the three of us together? What if the shock was too much for him?"

Joseph put his hands over hers and said firmly, "Nan? Look at me. Listen to me. All right?"

"Yes, Joey?" she whispered.

"It was NOT your fault today. It was NOT your fault Christmas Day. Today we know for SURE that it was the medications he was on."

"But ..."

"Now, if he had seen what Robert and I saw when we came up here this afternoon ..." Joseph looked over at Robert, and suddenly the two of them were shouting with laughter.

Indignant, the three women all crossed their arms and glared at them.

"Seeing Clarisse ... a QUEEN! ... acting like that!" Robert gasped out between his chortling. "And Nan leading the way ... and ... and CATHERINE ... all dignity gone! ... ALL of them! ... DAMN, it was funny! ..."

Joseph wiped his eyes and tried to stop laughing, but Robert's words set him off again.

"Nan, since you have a queen-sized bed in your room," Clarisse turned to Nan, trying to ignore the men, donning the shreds of dignity she still had left. "Catherine and I will stay with you tonight. We'll leave these hyenas on their own. Is that all right?"

"Of course it is, love," Nan said, gratefully.

The three of them, not deigning to take any notice of the men, made their way into the bedroom and slammed the door shut.

O o O o O o

The next morning, Robert was awakened by the doorbell ringing. He groaned and rolled over ... and fell off the couch. Muttering under his breath and throwing the blanket back on the couch, he staggered over to the door and opened it, yawning and scratching his chest under the flannel pyjama top.

"Room Service, Sir! Lady Nan asked that breakfast be sent up!" beamed the young man, rolling in a trolley. "I have her rather hot coffee here, so if you could ... ah!"

Nan had opened the bedroom door, trying to smother her yawns with her hand. "Oh, William, thank you very much!"

"Not a problem at ALL, Nanny! Er, Lady Nan ..."

Nan smiled sleepily and pulled her robe closer around her body. "Please, just keep saying 'Nanny', William!"

"Right-o! Rachel sends her love, by the way, Nanny."

"How nice," Nanny yawned behind her hand again. "Oh, my Lord, I MUST apologize, William ..."

"No problem. It's not an easy time for you, we know," William said, sympathetically. "How is Sir Wilkes?"

"Aoww, they say he's on the mend. Should be home for New Year's Eve, for sure, sure, sure."

"Very glad to hear THAT, Nanny. Guess what else I have for you besides your coffee?"

Robert stood back and watched as the young man poured Nan her coffee. He hoped there was some coffee for him, too! With any luck, the women had stopped being annoyed with Joseph and him. What, couldn't they take a JOKE? And it HAD been hilarious seeing them wobbling around the room! Well, all right, not WOBBLING, but still, it had been funny! But his night on the couch ... alone! ... had not been fun. He had spent the night remembering the previous night with Catherine ... damn, where was that blanket? Even just THINKING of her, and he ...

Turning away abruptly, Robert grabbed the blanket and covered himself. "I'll just, er ... go get dressed." He picked up his clothes and began backing away.

"Sure, sure, sure," Nan waved at him absently, taking a sip of coffee. A look of bliss crossed her face. "That is MUCH better. Much, much, much. Thank you, William. Now ... what else do you have?"

With a flourish, William produced three envelopes. "Invitations, Nanny! To the Plaza's New Year's Eve Gala. One for you and Sir Wilkes, one for Queen Clarisse and Sir Joseph, and one for your other sister and her husband. I'm sorry, I've forgotten their names." Then he looked at Robert apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sir. I know I should have remembered your name, and your lovely wife's, but ..."

"Robert Woodward," Robert said, loving the idea of Catherine being thought of as his wife. "and Catherine ..."

"Now, William," Nan scolded. "How many times do I have to tell you that they are NOT my sisters?"

"Nanny, they look just like you! They HAVE to be related!"

She drank some more coffee. "They're not sisters by blood, William, but I suppose they ARE by choice, for sure, sure, sure!"

"And speaking of your sisters, Nanny, did they want tea?"

"Yes, please," Clarisse appeared in the bedroom door, already neatly dressed in her suit.

"Is there any coffee?" Catherine appeared behind Clarisse, also dressed.

Robert looked longingly at the woman he loved, but she ignored him. Fine. If she wanted to be like that, well, FINE. He backed into the bathroom and shut the door, resisting the urge to slam it. Then he groaned. How was he going to get through another day without her? Maybe he could get her alone on an elevator, and jam the 'Close Door' button on it so they could have some privacy? Certainly nothing would be possible in the suite! He was going to have to do SOMETHING, or he was going to explode with all this pent-up sexual tension!

O o O o O o

When Joseph heard the others up, he lost no time in leaping out of the bed and dressing, too. His second night without Clarisse beside him had been FAR worse than the first! He had repeatedly found himself reaching for her, and encountering a cold sheet instead of her warm, loving body. It seemed as though it had been a long, long time since that wonderful Christmas Eve night when they had been alone in Robert's cabin and had indulged in all manner of lovemaking. He supposed the memories SHOULD tide him over for a few days, but all they seemed to do was aggravate his desire for more. He simply could NOT get enough of his deliciously-wanton wife. Remembering how she had looked last night, dancing and singing with the other two, all her inhibitions flung aside, reminded him strongly of their many wild and glorious escapades when it came to making love. Until last night, he didn't think another soul in the world could ever have imagined that Clarisse could be quite like that. Now he was no longer the only one to know the REAL Clarisse, the woman. Still, he couldn't be upset. Instead, it gladdened his heart to know that she was opening up to others, and not just to him. She had so much passion which she had buried inside for so many years, it was delightful to see her blossoming at last.

O o O o O o

After they finished breakfast, Nan phoned the hospital to check on Wilkes. When she got off the telephone, she was beaming. "The medication is almost out of his system," she announced. "They said he should be feeling not too bad by later this afternoon, so we can go and visit then."

"Excellent," Clarisse said. She tapped the invitation which they had all received. "That means we have time to go shopping."

"Shopping?" Catherine and Nan looked a little leery, and Joseph and Robert looked pained.

"We'll need evening gowns, of course. No time for custom-designed dresses, but I'm sure the Plaza could recommend a good shop nearby." Clarisse pondered the problem, wishing she had Charlotte here to organize for her. Well, this was the perfect time to prove that she could do all this herself. After all, she had managed to run Genovia for six years quite well, hadn't she? Of course, she had had Charlotte at her side for those six years, not to mention Genovia's very capable Prime Minister ... and the ever-faithful Joseph. She eyed him lovingly. Yes, Nan was right about what she had said last night, once they were in bed. Then she recalled the entire conversation, and felt herself grow hot all over.

"_I know I shouldn't be finding this so hard, but knickers! Willy and I haven't even been together for a year! We're already almost seventy. We don't have that much time left! I love him, for Lord's sake, and I love how he can make me feel! I'm not at all shy telling either of YOU, because I think you both understand! I just, well, think I should take care of him as best I can ... so he can ... take care of me, so to speak."_

_There was a pause, then Catherine said carefully, "Are you saying what I THINK you are saying, Nan?"_

"_Aoww, I'm an old fool, I know ... but I just found my Willy, and I don't want to lose him yet! I don't want to tax him at ALL. He's not getting any younger, either. What if I DO ... er, wear him out? I don't want that, although I DO love how I feel when he's with me!"_

_Clarisse thought about that. "Well, Wilkes has generally been healthy over the years! I don't see how a certain amount of ... exercise ... should hurt."_

"_It shouldn't hurt at all," Catherine said, the amusement in her voice evident. "But frankly, I don't think a little ABSTINENCE would hurt Robert or Joe right now, either! I mean, they LAUGHED at us this afternoon, for God's sake!"_

"_True," Clarisse admitted. "So, yes ... perhaps we SHOULD ... take a little more care of them. Make sure they don't ... overexert themselves. If Nan can do it with Wilkes, I should be able to do it with Joseph. After all, I would hate to lose him."_

"_I was very happily married before," Catherine said. "But Robert ... Robert is ... different. As you say, I would hate to lose him. I can't really explain it, but I had thought everything was over for me when Tom died, and now, suddenly, everything has come back to life. Even my HORMONES are going crazy!" and she laughed. _

"_I understand completely," Clarisse said. "Yes, I was married before, too ... and yes, I grew very fond of Rupert. He was my best friend. But ..."_

"_But it's wonderful when your best friend is also the one you love most in the entire world," Nan finished._

"_Yes, and Joseph is that for me, now. He showed me that I am capable of a deep and abiding, passionate love. I had thought that perhaps I was ... as cold all through as the shell I kept tightly wrapped around me." Clarisse confessed._

"_From what Charlotte has told me about your love life, Clarisse, a number of people know you are capable of that kind of love." Nan murmured._

_Clarisse shot up in bed, turned on the bedside light and stared at Nan. "What do you mean, Nan?" she demanded._

_Catherine just lay back and grinned. "This should be interesting," she commented. "Please elucidate, Nan!"_

_Nan blushed. "Aoww, it's easier to talk in the dark, Clarisse ... would you mind turning off the light?"_

"_What do you mean?" Clarisse didn't move, just repeated her question._

"_Well, I heard ..."_

"_What exactly did Charlotte say?" Clarisse interrupted her. "You've already revealed that Charlotte is the culprit! What has she said, and she hasn't told anyone ELSE, has she?"_

"_Aoww, no, no, no! Oh, my Lord, I don't want to get Charlotte into hot water! She was just telling me some of the times ... well ... they were Shades' stories ..." Nan looked troubled._

"_SHADES!" Clarisse fell back on the pillows, then covered her flushing face with her hands. "Oh, my!"_

"_Shades?" Catherine inquired. "Oh, yes! Joseph's replacement ... and possible match for Charlotte. Umm, Clarisse, suddenly you look very guilty. You mean, these aren't just STORIES? These are for REAL? Quick, Nan! Tell me!" she urged._

"_Well, the first time Shades caught them, they were in a locked closet ...completely NAKED!" Nan whispered._

_Clarisse moaned, "Not COMPLETELY ..."_

_Catherine giggled. "Go on!"_

"_I'm not too sure of the order. I believe there was something about ... a fountain? The gazebo? In the bushes beside the front steps after a ball? The, er, throne room?"_

"_CLARISSE!" Catherine looked scandalized, then giggled some more._

"_Not to mention various other rooms in the palace, including a secret passageway overlooking the room where Parliament meets when it's in session ... as it was when interrupted by a certain, er ... scream of completion, I understand. And those are just the times Shades caught them himself."_

"_Shades wasn't around when Robert and I caught Clarisse and Joe naked in front of the fireplace at the cabin Christmas morning," Catherine mused, her voice hinting at the laughter she was holding back. "Not exactly how I envisioned meeting the Queen of Genovia ... had I ever thought I'd have that honour."_

"_Oh, my LORD," Nan breathed. "Really? OH, and I almost forgot! They were seen in the airplane, too ... you know, Genovia One? So they're members of the Mile High Club, and ..."_

"_That's enough!" Clarisse put the force of her years as queen into her quiet command. She calmly reached over, turned off the light, and lay back down again, rigidly straight. "Good night, Nan. Good night, Catherine."_

_The other two murmured good night, and there was a pause before Clarisse added grumpily, "Besides, WE caught Charlotte and Shades in the gazebo ourselves one night! So tell Charlotte THAT, Nan!"_

_Then the three dissolved into giggles again._

Clarisse had never had women friends with whom she could act the way she had been acting for the last couple of days. She found it hard to recognize herself, but she loved the person she was when with Nan and Catherine. It was incredible to think that she had only met Catherine three days ago. She grew hot again at the memory of THAT 'meeting'. It was certain that NO one in Genovia would recognize her for Queen Clarisse Renaldi! Not this Clarisse!

Clearing her throat, Clarisse resumed speaking, pushing aside all other considerations. "Joseph, you will need to rent a tuxedo. Unless you have one with you, Robert, you will have to rent one as well. Wilkes has one, I know, so he'll be fine."

Robert looked incredulous. "You expect me to get into a MONKEY SUIT? Rent one and actually WEAR the damn thing?"

The women all narrowed their eyes when looking at him. "It IS a formal gala, Robert," Clarisse said, in a tone that meant business. "You and Joseph will be properly attired."

"All right, all right. Monkey see, monkey do ..." he grumbled. "What we men have to put up with when we're trying to impress a woman!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled one dollar bill. "Joseph, I bet you a thousand dollars that there'll be one man at the gala who is NOT henpecked, and will just be wearing a regular suit!"

Catherine snatched the bill out of his hand. "Don't be ridiculous, Robert! Metaphor or not, YOU are going to wear a tuxedo! Besides," she suddenly smiled coyly and tucked the money back into his trouser pocket with a few delicious strokes of her fingers, "think what a handsome group of friends we'll make."

Robert thought he would go up in flames if her hand had lingered one second more. God, he wasn't going to make it through the day! "Rent tux. Right. I'm on it. Joe? Let's go!"

"Ladies?"

"We'll be fine, Joseph," Clarisse assured him. She cupped his cheek in her hand. "Please don't worry about me. I'll be with Nan and Catherine, and we won't go far. I promise. We'll ask Mr. Salomone to recommend a store, and will straight there in a taxi and straight back." She smoothed her hand down his face in a lingering caress.

Joseph wanted to grovel at her feet and ask her to please, please, please come back to bed with him, but he merely inclined his head and turned away. "Come on, Robert. The sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back."

O o O o O o

Robert and Joseph stood staring with their mouths open that night when Catherine and Clarisse disappeared with Nan into the bedroom and closed the door. ANOTHER lonely night!

"Well, damn," muttered Robert. "Makes me wish I hadn't bothered with the stupid tux!"

"I can't believe she walked out on me AGAIN!" Joe looked dazed.

"Not even so much as one measly KISS today," Robert continued grumbling as he stripped off his shirt and rummaged in his case for his pyjamas.

"I feel sorry for Nanny, but ... but I want my WIFE back!"

"At least Clarisse married you. Catherine won't commit! How can I convince her I'm perfect for her if the damn woman won't let me near her?" Robert growled.

"Wilkes is the lucky one here ..."

"How do you figure that?" asked Robert, looking interested in spite of his frustration.

"He's sleeping comfortably enough in the hospital and doesn't even KNOW his wife is turning the cold shoulder to him. And I bet it's all because we laughed yesterday."

"Ah, hell," Robert slumped on the couch and put his head in his hands. "I wish women weren't so damned illogical!"

"You and me both, friend," Joe sighed as he went to his room.

O o O o O o


	11. Chapter 11

Part 11

The next morning, Clarisse waited until Nan was in the bathroom before sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning over the other woman who was still lying under the covers. "Catherine?" she whispered.

"Hmm?" Catherine tried to drag her eyes open.

"Did you have a good sleep?"

Catherine frowned, and opened one eye to fix it on Clarisse. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I miss Joseph," Clarisse tried to smile.

"Oh, honey," Catherine sat up and hugged Clarisse. "I know what you mean, actually ... I'm missing Robert, too. To be honest, I spent a good part of the night trying to figure out how we could ... umm ... sneak away somewhere today ... even just for a few minutes!"

Clarisse chuckled and returned the hug. "Thank you for telling me! Now I won't feel so guilty when I suggest it! Maybe when we're at the hospital this afternoon? If Wilkes is as good as he's supposed to be, maybe we could leave him and Nan alone and give THEM some time, as well as ourselves?"

"Good plan. No wonder you were a successful queen, your Majesty. You have brains!"

"You thought of it, too ... Doctor Howard," Clarisse got to her feet gracefully and proceeded to dress, humming to herself. She couldn't believe how much she had missed Joseph for the last three nights! However, knowing what was going to happen this afternoon meant that she could twist the screws a little tighter this morning.

"Clarisse?" Catherine whispered. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Surprised, Clarisse turned. "About?"

"We could make those two CRAWL this morning, if we put our minds to it."

O o O o O o

By the time the five of them arrived at the hospital to visit Wilkes that afternoon, Joseph and Robert were beside themselves with frustration. How COULD the women behave like that to them? All the teasing little touches, flirtatious looks and pointed comments had sent the men's blood pressure soaring. Even as they walked into the room, Clarisse crowded Joseph into the door and gave his inner thigh a gentle squeeze which made him suck in his breath and almost stumble. Paying no attention to him, she walked casually to the other side of the room and bent down to drop a kiss on Wilkes' cheek.

"Wilkes, you're looking MUCH better," she said. "I do hope you're feeling better, too."

"Oh, immensely, thank you, Clarisse," he said, his eyes twinkling as they went from Clarisse to his wife and then to Catherine. "Although I do find there's a slight problem with my eyesight. I am seeing in triplicate now!"

The women all smiled at him, their dazzling smiles so very much alike. Nan kissed him softly as she sat on a chair by his side, and he took her hand in his and held it tightly. He looked at the other two again, and shook his head, wincing a little as he did so. Then he said, "It's really quite remarkable. I mean, the likeness ..."

"Hell, it's not only just in looks," Robert muttered.

Catherine casually put her hand behind his back and ran a finger down his spine slowly, pausing for a long moment at his waistline, then moving further down. He tensed, and she smiled as she spread her hand and slid it over his hip. Then she winked at Clarisse, and cooed to Robert, "You mean that in a NICE way, don't you, darling?"

"I don't think we need to tell Wilkes anything about the tricks women ..." Joseph began, but he stopped when Clarisse took his hand in hers, running her thumb lightly over his palm.

"You surely aren't accusing NAN of trickery, are you?" Catherine looked at Joseph with deceptively-innocent eyes.

"Oh, tosh, tosh, tosh," Wilkes said. "Nan is NOTHING like many dreadful women I've had the misfortune to meet up with over the years, I know Clarisse well enough to know she is the same ... and if Catherine is at ALL like them in temperament as she is in looks, I know that she is as magnificent a woman as the other two."

"Oh, you ARE charming, Sir Wilkes!" Catherine grinned at him.

"Actually, Wilkes, I'm not sure about Nan, although I suspect she is like the others, but Robert and I are convinced that Clarisse and Catherine are suffering from the mid-life crisis," Joseph commented.

The women stared at him, nonplussed.

Robert grinned. "Hell yes, that must be it! Mid-life means that you become more reflective. That's when you start pondering the big questions. What is life? Why am I here? How much Healthy choice ice cream can I eat before it's no longer a healthy choice?"

Wilkes chuckled. "In mid-life, your memory starts to go. In fact, the only thing we can retain is water."

Robert added quickly, "Mid-life brings wisdom to know that life throws us curves and we're sitting on our biggest ones."

Wilkes laughed outright. "Brilliant! Joseph, I am SO glad you brought your friend here to meet us!"

Nan patted his hand warningly. "Don't get so, so, so excited, Willy, for Lord's sake! You'll be bringing the nurse in any moment!"

"Tosh, tosh, tosh. I've never felt better! It's just the pain in the shoulder ... the surgery, you know. Why, I daresay that soon I will be chasing you around our suite again!" he added daringly.

Nan flushed deeply. "Aoww, Willy! That ... that must be the medication talking!"

"I hope you have better luck in your suite than WE have been having, Wilkes!" said Joseph with a wry grimace.

"JOSEPH!" Clarisse gasped.

"Hell, yes, I hope so, too," Robert agreed grumpily. "And I don't care if I DO sound like a half-empty kind of guy."

Nan looked at the men severely. "It never hurt anyone to show a little restraint, now, did it? Aoww, my stars, stars, stars, we are just trying to take CARE of you!"

"We wouldn't want to be accused of ... wearing you out," added Clarisse, mischievously.

"After all, we are all getting older, and should be watching ourselves ... and our loved ones ..." Catherine agreed.

"Well, I'm with Wilkes when he talked about the snow on the roof," Joseph said emphatically.

Clarisse tried to catch Joseph's eye, but Wilkes didn't notice. He chuckled. "Yes. The old saying. 'Just because there's snow on the roof, doesn't mean there isn't a fire in the furnace!'"

Nan said severely, "YOUR furnace shouldn't be stoked for quite some time, Willy, for sure, sure, sure!"

Catherine smothered a laugh, and Clarisse's mouth twitched. Wilkes sighed and said plaintively, "Nan, you can't mean that! An old man should be HUMOURED ... PAMPERED ..."

Clearing her throat, Catherine looked meaningfully at Clarisse, then said, "Robert, may I see you for a moment alone please?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm glad you're so much better, Wilkes! Keep that furnace burning brightly!"

"I intend to. Thank you," Wilkes smiled.

"Joseph?" Clarisse turned to her husband. "I believe it's time we had a little ... talk ... as well. Will you excuse us, Nan? Wilkes?"

"Oh, for sure, sure, sure ..." Nan said, and Wilkes nodded as well.

When they were alone, for the first time since Wilkes' surgery, Nan brushed her hand over Wilkes' face lovingly. "I was so afraid I was going to lose you," she murmured.

His hand tightened around hers. "Never," he said. He tried to lift himself up, but winced again at the pain. "Nan?"

"Yes, Willy?"

"Kiss me?"

"Willy, we're in the hospital!"

He said nothing. Nan looked around and didn't see anyone, so leaned forward and brushed her lips over his. Then she did it again, lingering a little longer.

"I love you, Nan," he whispered.

"Oh, Willy ..." and tears came to her eyes as she bent over him and kissed him again.

"I'm not sure I like the look in your eye, Clarisse," Joseph warned her as they moved down the hallway. Then he took her by surprise as, upon passing the small kitchenette for patients' use, he pulled her into the empty room and closed the door. "I don't know what you wanted to talk about, but it's going to have to wait. You've been goading me enough lately ..." He caught her unresisting body in his arms and kissed her deeply.

"In the stairwell...?" Catherine questioned as Robert held her arm and pushed her through the swinging door.

"Most people use elevators now ... God, Catherine, you're driving me out of my mind ..."

Her back to the wall, she welcomed the pressure of his body all along hers as he kissed her passionately.

Then the buzzing sound Nan had been hearing suddenly registered, and she leaped off the bed in a panic just as the nurse came into the room again. Seeing Nan with a guilty look on her face and Wilkes slightly ashamed, but still beaming, the nurse narrowed her eyes. "What exactly has been going on here? It appears, Sir Wilkes, that you are WELL on the way to recovery and soon will be able to ... please your wife ...!" Then she laughed heartily, checked the monitors one last time, and, still chuckling, left the room.

Nan and Wilkes stared at the door, then at each other, and both slowly turned crimson.

The door to the kitchenette suddenly swung open as two elderly men, both pushing an IV stand and talking animatedly, started to hobble in.

Joseph raised his head, shielding Clarisse from view, and glared at them. "Do you mind?" he asked icily.

The men backed out, whining, "But we just wanted some TOAST ..."

Clarisse began to giggle inwardly, then pushed away from Joseph. "We should go ... Oh, Joseph, if Nan somehow gets wind of this and tells Charlotte, I will never be able to face ANY of our friends again!"

The grin on Joseph's face hid none of his thoughts. "Did I ever tell you I absolutely adore Clarisse? The REAL Clarisse! Not Queen Clarisse ... not Grandma ... not Sir Joseph's wife ... but YOU ... my Clarisse!"

"You might have ... mentioned it ... once or twice ... maybe not in so many words, but ... Oh, Joseph!" and Clarisse flung her arms around his neck exuberantly, gave him a long, passionate kiss, then said, "We HAVE to get back to Wilkes and Nan!"

The swinging door to the stairwell crashed open one flight above them, and Catherine squeaked a little and hid her face in Robert's chest. Running footsteps came down, then a voice said, "Is she all right?"

"She'll ..." Robert's voice caught in his throat. He cleared it and said, "She'll be fine. Thank you."

"Good. I'm late!" and the footsteps receded.

"Oh, God, if that had been Joseph and Clarisse, I would never have lived this down!" muttered Catherine, putting her hands on Robert's chest and distancing herself from him reluctantly. Robert grinned at her. "What are you laughing at?" she asked, irritably.

"You," Robert admitted. "You can't keep your hands off me, and it bugs the hell out of you. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I feel the same way about you."

Catherine opened her mouth to make a blistering reply, then closed it again. What could she say? He was right! Changing the subject, she muttered, "We have to get back to Nan and Wilkes."

"Lead the way, oh wise and cautious one," Robert gestured grandly. "That way I can check out your ass ...ets."

"Did anyone ever tell you that YOU were an ass?" she said pertly.

"You tried. Once. But you fell on your face when you tried. Which should tell you something." he chuckled. "Come on. They'll be waiting for us, and you don't want them to guess that you just couldn't keep your hands off me, do you?"

"You are impossible!" but a smile was tugging the corners of her lips.

"Damn right."

When Robert and Catherine got back to Wilkes' room, it was to find Joseph and Clarisse trying to calm Nan down. Wilkes was lying down instead of sitting up, and his face was slightly flushed.

"What's the matter?" Catherine asked, concerned. She checked the monitors by Wilkes' bed.

"The ... the monitor went off! Oh, my stars, stars, stars! How can they think of sending him home tomorrow if his heart ... when I ... oh, my LORD!" Nan swallowed, her face turning red.

"He seems fine now," Catherine observed. "How do you feel, Wilkes?"

"Actually, I'm a little tired ..." He blushed a little.

"We'll leave, now," Clarisse said, "and let you rest. Nan? Are you coming with us, or are you going to stay here for a while?"

"I would rawther stay here until the end of visiting hours, if no one else minds." Nan looked a little nervous, but not anxious to leave. She kept a tight grip on Wilkes' hand.

"Joe and I will come back and pick you up later," Robert offered.

"Thank you, Robert. Thank you, Joey. I'll call you when I'm ready to come."

O o O o O o

When Nan got back to the suite that night, she was quite subdued. Clarisse asked what was wrong, and Nan shook her head, but tears were shining in her blue eyes. The men shuffled a little uneasily.

"What is it?" Catherine asked gently, taking Nan's hands in hers.

Nan looked at Catherine piteously. "I love Willy, Catherine. But I can't if I'm going to KILL him!"

"KILL ...?" Clarisse started to say, but Joseph touched her hand, and she subsided.

"I believe Catherine is quite capable of explaining things to Nan," Joseph murmured to her.

"Nan, listen to me. Making love will NOT kill Wilkes." Catherine said bluntly.

"It won't? But his heart rate ..."

"Nan, EVERYBODY'S heart rate goes up when making love!" Catherine felt her own heart thumping, and her colour rose a bit as Robert hastily hid a grin. "The pacemaker is set to not let the heart get lower than a certain rate, and the medication is given to calm the heart down when it starts to race. You saw me checking the monitors, right? Well, according to them, yes, Wilkes' heart rate shot up suddenly, stayed at that fast pace for ten to fifteen minutes, which was still well within reasonable limits, then gradually slowed down, on its own. The reason the monitors went off is because they are set to register anything above a reasonable heart rate for when one is lying in bed. So when you ..." She broke off. Nan had understood her, and Catherine suddenly realized that so, too, had Joseph, Clarisse and Robert. She coughed a bit, then added quietly, "Believe it or not, with the technology at our fingertips that we have today, the computer can print a readout of Wilkes' heart-rate for an entire year, every minute of every day ... the ups and the downs, the times when the pacemaker has to take over, the times when his heart is beating on its own. Wilkes' life will be an open book to the pacemaker clinic. His sex life included. I'm sorry, but it's just something you are going to have to learn to live with." Then, taking a deep breath, she said, "I am the only outsider here, since the rest of you have known each other or at least one other person for quite some time. But I feel quite confident when I say, Nan, that if any one of US had been hooked up to these heart monitors this afternoon ... for that twenty minutes ... the monitors would have gone crazy!"

"So, now that we all know everybody else's state of mind ... and body ...at the present time," Robert cleared his throat ... "anyone for a game of scrabble? Maybe listen to some Frank Sinatra records? Light a few candles?"

"Who invited him?" Joseph asked.

They all laughed.

O o O o O o


	12. Chapter 12

Part 12

"Well, I suppose we should start getting ready for the gala tonight," Nan said, patting Wilkes' hand then getting to her feet. She had been sitting close to him for most of the day, just as she had ever since they had brought him home the day before.

"Do we REALLY have to wear those horribly uncomfortable clothes?" Robert whined.

Clarisse, already on her feet and moving towards Nan's room where the three women were to dress, turned and raised her eyebrows at him, giving him 'the Look' which Robert and Joseph both knew well. She didn't have to say a word.

Catherine hid her grin at Robert's grumbling. The three men were going to change in Joseph's room. The rented tuxedos were hanging in the closet there, with Wilkes'. The dresses the women had bought a few days earlier had been delivered to the Plaza that morning, and they had been hurried into Nan's room before the men could see them. All three women had gone to Vincent that afternoon, and had surprised the men by reappearing with similar hairdos, making them look even more alike than they normally did.

Nan's hair had been trimmed and was up in a smooth, sleek French pleat and decorated with hairpins sparkling with diamonds and rubies. She had earrings and a necklace to match, lying in her jewellery box, all of which Wilkes had given her that year for Christmas ... an extravagant gift that still took her breath away whenever she thought of them. Clarisse and Catherine both appeared with hairpieces, adding elaborate braids and soft coils to their upswept short hair. Clarisse's accessories were diamond and amethyst, and Catherine's were pearl and sapphire.

At that moment, the doorbell rang ... a long, continuous ring.

"That has to be Eloise," Nan said, hurrying to the door. "What's she doing back so early?" Opening the door, she smiled at the child, "Hello, pet, you're back early! I thought you were away until next week!" Then her gaze sharpened at the tragic look on Eloise's face. "What is it, love? What's the matter?"

"Nanny, Weenie is terribly, terribly sick!" Eloise said. "He's throwing up and his head falls over and wobbles until it's loose, and Maman says the veterinary doctor absolutely isn't there because it's New Year's Eve-y! And we came back because Maman's friends wanted to come to the gala tonight. So I skittered over here as fast as I everly could, hoping that Dr. Catherine could look at Weenie and help him! Can you?" and she looked hopefully at Catherine. Then her eyes widened as she looked at all three women closely. "You all look absolutely DIVINE! What dresses are you wearing tonight? Pink, I hope. Pink is absolutely the bestest and prettiest colour there is! Are you wearing pink?"

All three women shook their heads regretfully. "I'm sorry, Eloise," Catherine added. "I'll look at Weenie ..." and she mouthed 'thank you' to Clarisse who had just whispered 'Eloise's dog!' in her ear, "but I'm not an animal doctor, you know."

Eloise stepped to one side and picked up Weenie who was lying on the floor where she had obviously placed him. The child carried the dog into the suite and put him on the floor in front of Catherine. The dog whined a little, then began to heave, spasms that wracked his body.

"Oh no!" Catherine cried, envisioning the mess about to come on Nan's beautiful rug. She quickly bent down and moved the dog to the hardwood floor, holding him and soothing him. "Oh, where is Sam when I need him?"

"Sam?" inquired Robert, trying to pretend he didn't care one way or another who the mysterious 'Sam' was.

"A very good friend from pre-med years," Catherine said absently, looking in Weenie's mouth and eyes and feeling his nose. "He went on to veterinary school and is practising in Iowa. We keep in touch at Christmas and birthdays ... you know." Weenie was lying limp again now, under Catherine's soothing hands. "Well, it doesn't look like Weenie is TOO bad ..."

"Weenie already threw up over absolutely everything in our living room," Eloise said, matter-of-factly. "It was all yucky and lumpy ... like smushy chocolate fudge. Here's what I like. FIRM chocolate fudge! So does Nanny. I thought Weenie would, too, so I gave him some. He kept wanting more, so I gave him lots. He ate almost the whole box that Sir Wilkes gave me!"

Catherine looked up in surprise. "You gave Weenie candy?"

"Lots and lots," nodded Eloise.

"I expect that's the problem with him, then." Catherine said, getting to her feet. "How do YOU feel when you eat a whole box of candy at once?"

"When Nanny and I did it last Christmas, we just had to lie flat on the floor and groan!" Eloise sighed. "Oh my Lord, that hurt!"

The adults laughed even as Nan flushed. "It wasn't JUST the candy we ate, Eloise!" she reminded the child, "We had had much too much turkey, too, for Lord's sake!"

"Well," Catherine said, gingerly picking up the dog and handing him back to Eloise, "I suspect that's how Weenie feels. He'll probably be better tomorrow, if you let him sleep and don't give him ANYTHING to eat until he is better. Just water to drink."

"Thank you, Dr. Catherine! I absolutely KNEW you could help! See you at the party later!" and Eloise skipped out the door.

O o O o O o

When the men were finished dressing and ready to head back to the living room, Robert said grumpily, "We look like a flock of damned penguins!"

"Three is hardly a flock. Isn't the word 'gaggle'?" asked Wilkes, absently rubbing the shoulder where the pacemaker had been implanted, and wincing a little. He was feeling so much better now, though, than he had felt for, well, quite a few months! If only he had gone to the doctor when this first started! He might not have worried Nan so much. Now she was almost over-protective of him, although he was loving all the attention she gave him. However, she was still wary of 'stimulating' him very much. Wilkes hoped to get a chance to talk to Catherine tonight, if he could find the courage, and ask if such 'stimulation' were as harmful as Nan feared! Certainly she would have an opinion on that subject! Catherine had already told Nan that alcohol wasn't a stimulant, so Wilkes COULD have a drink or two ... although, as always, IN MODERATION! Yes, he MUST ask Catherine about this other. Tonight.

"It's a gaggle of geese. I don't think it's a gaggle of penguins. Maybe it's a horde?" Joseph suggested, checking his tie in the mirror one last time.

"I wouldn't say three is a horde, except our three women! THEY can be like a bloody horde of elephants, stampeding over all of us, making us dance to their tune," Robert mumbled, running the comb through his hair one last time. Then he looked at Wilkes and Joseph standing by the door, and down at himself before sighing. "We're just ... just three damned penguins! Let's go. Did I ever mention that I hate dressing up and I'm not crazy about dancing?"

O o O o O o

Clarisse looked at the other two when they were dressed, and she smiled. "Better," she nodded. "MUCH better."

Nan's eyes were almost teary as she whispered, "I can't believe you two would do this for me ..."

"Do what?" Catherine looked puzzled. She adjusted the neckline of the royal blue dress she was wearing.

"The dresses ... your hair ..." Nan tried to smile, but it was wobbly. "You make me feel ... as beautiful as you ..."

Both Catherine and Clarisse instantly converged on her and gave her a hug, careful not to wrinkle the breathtakingly-beautiful crimson dress she had on. "You ARE as beautiful. All three of us are ... tonight, especially!"

Then, still with her left arm around Nan's waist, Clarisse turned the three of them to the mirrored doors, and indicated their reflections. Tucking an almost non-existent strand of hair behind her right ear and, after studying her dark lavender dress critically, she smiled and said, "Look at us. We're doing the men proud tonight."

"I just hope Joseph isn't too disappointed when he finds out we're not planning to go downstairs to the gala," Catherine said. "I know Robert isn't looking forward to it, so he'll be ecstatic, and Wilkes is probably just putting on a show about being willing to go, but doesn't Joseph enjoy fancy affairs? I mean, you seem to attend them often enough, from what you've said."

"He won't mind," Clarisse smiled, "especially if I promise to reward him later ..." and she laughed, her eyes sparkling every bit as much as the jewels she wore.

"They should ALL be rewarded later," Nan murmured, then turned anxious eyes to Catherine. "That is, if you are sure, sure, SURE it won't hurt Wilkes!"

"Nan, I am sure, sure, sure," Catherine said sincerely, patting her friend's hand. "Besides, the extra surge of adrenaline is a very good painkiller!"

"And Robert will be suitably rewarded too? Maybe we'll light a thousand candles ... and you'll accept his proposal? Or even do as the two of us did and ask HIM?" Clarisse asked slyly.

"Aoww, my stars, stars, stars!" Nan stared. "You STILL haven't, Catherine? But you LOVE him ... and he loves you!"

"I ... I have to wonder if love is always enough. What about my responsibilities ...?" she broke off when she saw Clarisse's expression. "All right," she said, hurriedly, "forget the responsibilities. But what about Robert's children? A second marriage for their father ... so soon after their mother dies ..."

"But she was sick for a number of years, wasn't she?"

"She became much worse just in the last few months, I understand," Catherine said. "Anyway, I hear them out in the living room. We should probably go out and break the news that we're having our own private New Year's Eve party up here in the suite." She was anxious to turn the conversation away from the subject of her possibly marrying Robert. She wanted to marry him, oh, she WANTED it ... but despite Clarisse's words about the responsibility she had to herself, she still couldn't quite get past what others might think.

"Then let's go, go, go!" Nan said.

O o O o O o

When the three women stepped out into the living room, the men who had been restlessly pacing all stopped dead and stared at them in silence. Nan flushed a little under the scrutiny, but her eyes anxiously sought Wilkes', and at his obvious admiration, she lifted her chin and almost preened.

Joseph finally broke the silence. "Beautiful," he said huskily, looking at Clarisse, then Nan, then Catherine. "Just beautiful. But," he added, "you're making us late!" Clarisse smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but Joseph anticipated her response, "And even though you think it's just everyone else that is early, there are occasionally times when you're wrong ... and LATE!"

"In this case, Joseph," Clarisse said, stepping up and touching his cheek lightly, "I am not wrong. We are not late." The doorbell rang again, and although the men looked surprised, the women did not. "In fact, I believe," Clarisse continued, looking at the clock, "that this is five minutes early."

Nan crossed to the door, saying, "You're right, Clarisse, he IS early."

"He?" the men echoed.

But Nan had opened the door, and a smiling Bill came in, steering a trolley. "Here it is, Nanny! Sorry, I know I'm a little early, but the gala's almost ready to start, and I'm working it. Good to see you back, Sir Wilkes, and looking healthier and handsomer than ever! Ladies and gentlemen, Happy New Year!"

"It WILL be a happy New Year, William, for sure, sure, sure!" Nan smiled.

Bill kissed her cheek. "And you, of all people, deserve it, Nanny! You are positively radiant, tonight! In fact, you ALL are! You're SURE you three aren't triplets?"

Clarisse and Catherine chuckled along with Nan. "We're sure, William," said Nan, and Bill left, once again wishing them all a Happy New Year.

"Er, you're not REALLY sisters, are you? TRIPLETS? I mean, it's not a possibility at all?" Robert still looked stunned as his gaze passed from one woman to the other.

"No," said Nan as all three shook their heads. "Definitely not sisters. No blood relation at all!"

"No blood relation, but sisters related by chance and by choice ... as friends," Catherine said.

"Friends and sisters forever," Clarisse added.

Wilkes stepped up to Nan, taking her hands in his, then looking at all the others in the room. "Right! We are ALL friends forever, by chance and by choice, as Catherine said. Friends of the heart. And it WILL be a happy New Year for us all." He kissed Nan's hands.

"I THOUGHT we were going to a party!" Robert spoke querulously, but his eyes danced. "I got all dressed up and EVERYTHING. Don't make me cry with all this sentiment you're flinging about! I have my makeup to think about!"

The women, who had all been blinking back their tears, began to laugh at that. "Oh, Robert," Catherine said, running her hand down his arm and thinking privately that he was incredibly handsome and irresistible dressed in a tuxedo.

"Actually," Nan said, "We talked it over and decided ..."

"To have our own party HERE instead of downstairs!" Joseph finished, a huge smile on his face. "RIGHT?"

"REALLY?" Wilkes and Robert questioned, disbelievingly. Then big smiles crossed their faces as well. "RIGHT!"

Robert's hand immediately went to his tie to rip it off, but Catherine caught it. "Ah, ah, ah. We stay dressed for THIS party, Robert!"

"Damn," he muttered, but the gladness in his face was unmistakable.

"I'm glad none of you are disappointed," Clarisse said.

"Not at all!" Wilkes sounded grateful indeed. He sat down on the couch, and Nan promptly sat beside him, clinging to his arm.

"We ordered food and drinks," she said. "That's what William brought up. And we have CDs for music so we can dance here, light the fire and some candles ..." She glanced at Catherine and winked at that. "and watch the television to see the ball drop in Times Square."

O o O o O o

At five minutes to twelve, Nan slipped out of Wilkes' arms and shut off the CD player, turning on the television in its place. Robert, Catherine, Clarisse and Joseph all stopped dancing as well and gathered around the trolley that Bill had brought up in order to get another drink. "We have to be ready to toast the New Year!" Robert explained, asking Nan and Wilkes what they would have.

He was pouring Wilkes a glass of wine when Nan suddenly cried out, "The clock is slow! The ball is falling! Quick! Kiss time!" and she lunged for Wilkes and kissed him hard.

Robert fumbled with the bottle, then dropped it, turned and grabbed the woman on his right. On the other side of the trolley, Joseph did the same thing. Catherine and Clarisse were momentarily startled, then both had to struggle not to laugh. They were kissing the wrong man! Both wanted to see how long it would take the men to realize, so neither fought to get away, but rather submitted to the kiss.

In fact, Clarisse slid her hands around Robert under his jacket, and raked her nails down his back, with as much pressure as she could manage. She had wanted to get back at him for quite a while for everything he had said to her the first few days of their time in America!

With a yell, Robert almost flung her away. "What the he ...? CLARISSE! Damn it, why'd you do that? I KNEW it was you!"

"I should hope you didn't know right from the beginning," Clarisse said calmly.

"Damn close," Robert grumbled, "God, my BACK! You CLAWED it!"

Joseph had already released Catherine within moments of touching her lips with his, his words of apology just beginning to be stammered when Robert had yelled. Now he was grinning, and Catherine had tears of laughter in her eyes. Nan and Wilkes were staring at all four of them.

Glaring at Catherine, Robert said, "If you're laughing, I swear ..."

"I told you before that I don't take joy in another's adversity," Catherine reminded him, but she smirked a little as she said it.

"You laughed that time, too!" growled Robert.

"I think you got what you deserved, old man," Joseph slapped him on the back. "That'll teach you to try to horn in on MY territory!"

"Hellcat!" Robert muttered.

"I BEG your pardon? You couldn't possibly be referring to ME, could you?" Clarisse asked, innocently.

"I call 'em like I see 'em," was Robert's response to that. He stalked over to Nan and kissed her quickly on the lips. "Thanks for everything, Nan ... especially for putting up with me for the last few days!"

"Any time, Robert, for sure, sure, sure," Nan beamed at him. Then she added seriously, "And see, Robert, sometimes it's better to follow your heart by listening to what's in other people's hearts."

Robert stared at her, nonplussed. Then Wilkes grabbed his hand. "Robert? Listen to my Nan. Your Catherine is very like her. Marry her, my friend. You'll never regret it!"

"Marry her? MARRY her? What the hell do you think I've been asking her for the last week? SHE WON'T ANSWER ME!" Robert was frustrated beyond belief. "So I'll do it PUBLICLY now!" He turned to Catherine who was watching him closely. "Catherine, please ... will you marry me?"

"Robert, about that ..."

"Dammit, Catherine, I just want you to answer my question!"

"I don't have a pocket for my money in this dress, but if I offered to bet you a thousand dollars that you couldn't guess my feelings, would you know it was just a metaphor for how I feel?" Catherine stepped a little closer to him, her love for him almost palpable.

"Catherine? What are you saying?" Robert was staggered. "Are you really saying what I THINK you're saying?"

"I've decided to live in the real world, where I think it's possible to light a thousand candles and not burn the place down, where it's possible to drive a Jaguar in the winter, AND where a woman sometimes has to take responsibility for her own happiness. So, Robert, will you marry me, to make public and official the relationship we both have wanted since our one special night?"

"Will I ... WHAT? Hell, YES!"

Clarisse, Nan, Joseph and Wilkes all cheered, but Robert and Catherine hardly heard them, wrapped in each other's arms as they were. They were pulled apart shortly, however, Joseph saying there was time for that after the rest had retired for the night. Slightly embarrassed, Robert and Catherine hugged the others, accepting their congratulations. They all toasted the newest couple, then Wilkes' new-found health, then Clarisse and Joseph's retirement, although Clarisse added when they were finished that she still DID have some responsibilities to the people of Genovia.

"And one of them is that I had said I would contact some people with regard to setting up a new Children's Hospital in Pyrus. This probably isn't the time for it, but Catherine, I DO wish you would consider coming to Genovia to organize this for me. We'd love to have you and your expertise, and I do think you'd be the best person for the job! Please think about coming."

"Come on your honeymoon and check it out," Joseph grinned, wringing Robert's hand. "Don't let Catherine even THINK about coming without you! Come and be MARRIED there! Don't think I'm going to miss your wedding ... not after we were here for the proposal and the acceptance of it!"

"You'll LOVE Genovia, for sure, sure, sure," Nan added to Catherine who was still wide-eyed at Clarisse's offer. "It's a beautiful country. And you'll get to meet everyone ... even Charlotte and Shades! Oh, my Lord, you could help Clarisse get them together!"

"IF we come," Catherine spoke a little dazedly, but firmly, "you and Wilkes have to come, too. I'm not going to a strange country only knowing three other people ... even if one IS the former queen!"

Robert looked at Wilkes and Joseph. "You'd let those three loose on an unsuspecting COUNTRY? They may not really be sisters, but they're so damn much alike it's SCARY!"

"That's why you have to be there, too. We need one man per woman to keep her in line." Joseph said solemnly.

"Excuse me? You're not speaking about US, are you?" Clarisse asked, her eyebrows raised.

Joseph put his arm around her. "I think Robert and Catherine are eager to be alone. And I was wondering if perhaps you could be persuaded to repeat your dancing and singing of a few days ago ... a private performance, you understand, wearing nothing but the tinsel you hold in your hands and wrap around your body!"

Clarisse's eyes widened in shock even as Robert and Wilkes laughed.

"I'll second that!" Wilkes said. "Especially since I missed the first time! Nan? Could I perhaps persuade YOU to do a similar private performance?"

"WILKES!" Nan gasped, horrified, her face flushing vividly. "Your HEART!"

"Catherine? We can grab some tinsel off the tree ..." Robert grinned. "We might even be agreeable to sharing some with Clarisse and Nan."

The women looked at each other, then at the men, then laughed. "Why not?" Nan said.

"We sisters have to stick together!" Clarisse agreed.

"Bonded not by blood but by heart and spirit!" added Catherine.

The three, much to the men's surprise and delight, went to pull the tinsel from the tree before Nan and Wilkes vanished into their room and locked the door, and Joseph and Clarisse disappeared into their room, also locking the door, leaving Robert and Catherine alone ... finally.

"Happy New Year ... Robin," Robert said, his arms around the woman he loved more than he had ever dreamt possible. He saw the need that turned her eyes a smokey blue, and crushed her close.

As Catherine's lips neared his, she murmured, "Happy New Year ... Charlie."

He kissed her swiftly, then deeply. The taste and scent of touch of Catherine herself eclipsed all else. Never again could he fathom mistaking another for her. Catherine's world tilted. She loved this man, and wanted him in her arms and in her heart. She wanted the white-hot need that sprang between them with a desperation that almost stunned her. Their love burned intensely as they united, celebrating a bond that could never be broken, a love that was truly the greatest of all.

O o O o O o

From the New York News – Royalty Watch ...

Queen Clarisse X 3!

Queen Clarisse of Genovia has been spending

the week between Christmas and New Year's

together with her two sisters, Lady Nan of the

Plaza Hotel here in New York City and Dr.

Catherine Howard of Connecticut, a noted

cardiologist. It has been revealed that the

mystery man the Queen was so concerned

about since their arrival in America is, in fact,

the queen's brother-in-law and Lady Nan's

husband, Sir Wilkes, who is presently in the

hospital recuperating from a massive heart

attack incurred Christmas Day. New York

City has been privileged to have welcomed

three such important personages as these

enchanting triplets, all of them distinguished

in her own right, yet all of them so much

alike that cases of mistaken identity could

potentially ...

(Article continued on Page A3)

Genovia's Next Princess?

Is the Genovian monarchy in danger of being

over-run by Americans? The possible

illegitimate great-grand-daughter of Queen

Clarisse of Genovia is living openly here in

New York City near the queen's sister,

Lady Nan, and the child calls Lady Nan

'Nanny' which, as everyone knows, is

another form of 'grandmother'. It IS

conceivable that Lady Nan IS the

grandmother, but the child refers to the

queen as Nanny as well, witnesses noted.

The present Genovian queen, Queen

Amelia, was born and raised in San

Francisco, never setting foot in Genovia

until her sixteenth year. The monarchy

could be contemplating allowing the

New York princess to be groomed as

the NEXT queen of the small European

country which ...

(article continued on Page C8)

THE END!


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